Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha at Jijangam Hermitage, Seoul

This statue is the Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha that originally occupied the central position in a Trikaya (Three Bodies of the Buddha) triad enshrined in Daeungjeon Hall at Jijangam Hermitage in Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu; it is said to have been installed there in 1924, when the lay Buddhist Kang Jae-hui rebuilt the hermitage. It is a medium-sized wooden statue with a seated height of 117.5 cm, in good condition, and is now held by the National Museum of Korea. A votive text for the statue's creation, written in red ink on blue silk, was found inside it. According to this text, the statue was originally enshrined at Jainsuyangsa, a pair of temples where women of the Joseon royal family left secular life to practise Buddhism, and it records that Queen Jangnyeol (Lady Yu of Munseong-gun, 1576–1623), the principal consort of King Gwanghaegun, commissioned a total of eleven Buddhist statues and paintings together, for the salvation of King Gwanghaegun, the crown prince and crown princess, herself, her deceased birth parents, and deceased princes and princesses. This statue is one of those eleven images, and is the only one identified to date. It was made under the supervision of Byeogam Gakseong, the foremost eminent monk of his age, with the participation of thirteen sculptor-monks (josanghwawon, monks who made Buddhist images) — Hyeonjin, Eungwon, Suyeon, Ongmyeong, Beopnyeong, Myeongeun, Cheongheo, Seongin, Bohui, Ingyun, Gyeonghyeon, Jisu, and Taegam — and four finishing craftsmen (chijang) — Seongok, Seungil, Miryeon, and Uiin. These were all monk-sculptors who each formed their own school and dominated the field in the 17th century, an indication of the importance attached to this Buddhist project at Jainsuyangsa at the time. The Vairocana Buddha at Jijangam Hermitage has an imposing body, and its facial expression is simple yet dignified. The body leans slightly forward from the back, and the drapery folds of the robe are soft, full, natural, and full of life. This facial treatment is comparable to statues in which Hyeonjin and Suyeon took part as head sculptors, while the treatment of the body and drapery is stylistically consistent with statues of the school formed by Eungwon and Ingyun. The Buddha's mudra, the jikwonin (the wisdom-fist mudra, in which the right hand covers the clenched left fist), is not found in earlier periods and emerged newly after the 17th century; it appears in the 1624 clay Vairocana Buddha in Daeungjeon Hall at Beopjusa Temple, made by Hyeonjin, and in the Wooden Vairocana Buddha in Daeungjeon Hall at Hwaeomsa Temple, Gurye, made by Cheongheon, who inherited Hyeonjin's style — linking this statue to the works of the Hyeonjin school. This statue is of great significance both for its historical value as a royally commissioned Buddhist work, directly sponsored by Queen Jangnyeol, the principal consort of King Gwanghaegun, and as a collaborative work by leading monk-sculptors active across the country in the 17th century.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물