Reliquary Pagoda at Hoeamsa Temple Site, Yangju

The Reliquary Pagoda at Hoeamsa Temple Site, Yangju (hereafter, the Pagoda), is a jinsinsari pagoda - a pagoda enshrining the actual relics of the Buddha - commissioned and built by the royal family in the early Joseon period. Not only is it grand in scale, it is also well preserved, and it is a valuable pagoda that reveals various elements of royal Buddhist art, including the pagoda's form, Buddhist iconography, and decorative patterns. Located within the Historic Site 'Hoeamsa Temple Site, Yangju', the Pagoda is known, through excavation, its siting, and scholarly research on historical records, to have been a Buddhist pagoda in which the actual relics of Sakyamuni Buddha were enshrined. In addition, the various carvings on the Pagoda are stylistically similar to other stone monuments commissioned by the Joseon royal family, and an influence can also be inferred from the pagodas of the Three Eminent Monks located within the Hoeamsa Temple precinct. The Pagoda consists of a multi-tiered base built on an octagonal plan, a spherical body, and a finial. On top of the octagonal ground stone, a two-tiered base was built; compared with other monks' stupas, its body stones are higher and its coping stones thicker, giving it the tallest base among surviving reliquary pagodas. Various decorative carvings also adorn each face of the base: dragons, girin (mythical unicorn-like creatures), floral scroll designs, arabesque designs, and the Eight Legions of guardian deities are carved in sequence from the base stone of the lower tier up to the coping stone of the upper tier. The body of the Pagoda takes the form of another monk's stupa, with a spherical body, placed on top. In other words, on top of the base - built in four tiers in total, including the ground stone - a low octagonal base is placed once more, above which stands a monk's stupa consisting of a spherical body, a roof stone, and a finial made up of a boryun (wheel-shaped ornament). The overall style, construction technique, and detailed patterns are similar to those of royal tombs and other royal stone monuments of the early Joseon period, and given the Pagoda's scale, the quality of its stonework, and its assembly technique, it appears to have been designed and built by the finest stonemasons of the time. This heritage item is judged to be the essence and a representative example of early Joseon stone art, of great historical, academic and artistic value.

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Where it is

Region

Yangju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물