Five-story Stone Pagoda of Geumsansa Temple, Gimje

This pagoda stands on a tall platform called Songdae in the northern part of Geumsansa Temple. Directly behind it is a bell-shaped sarigyedan, a stone platform enshrining Buddhist relics (sari); setting a stone pagoda in front of such a relic platform in this way also reflects the relic worship of the time. The pagoda has a five-storey body set on a two-tiered base of upper and lower platforms. The base is notable in that the lower tier is reduced in scale, and a separate stone is inserted on the top surface of each tier to support the stone above it. In the body, the rate of reduction from the second storey upward is fairly gentle, and the pillar carvings on the body stone of each storey are relatively wide. The underside of the roof stones has three tiers of eaves-supports, and the eaves form a gentle curve. The sixth tier has pillars carved at each corner of its body stone like the other storeys and is capped with something in the shape of a roof stone; this, however, is in fact a noban, a base plate for supporting the pagoda's finial, a feature unique and unseen in other pagodas. The finial itself has been kept intact and retains its original form well. While following the basic style of Unified Silla stone pagodas, it shows distinctive features in the form of its base and roof stones, clearly reflecting its character as a work of the Goryeo period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimje, Jeonbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물