Paintings of Shamanistic Spirits in Guksadang Shrine

These are paintings of shamanistic deities kept in Guksadang Shrine. Guksadang is the oldest and most renowned gutdang (shamanic ritual shrine) in the Seoul area, handed down from the Joseon period. The original Guksadang stood on the site of the present Palgakjeong Pavilion on Namsan Mountain, but when the Japanese built the Joseon Shrine (朝鮮神宮) on Namsan in 1925, it was dismantled and reassembled on its current site. On entering Guksadang, the walls are covered with paintings of the deities venerated in musok (shamanistic) belief. Most of the shamanistic paintings are coloured works on a silk ground, numbering 21 in total, and in addition there are seven myeongdu (明斗), regarded as symbols of the spirits of shamans who have passed away. A number of paintings hang there: Changbussi (also called Gwangdaessi), playing a flute while walking a tightrope; Byeolsangnim, seated with a sword resting before him; the Mountain Spirit; General Choe Yeong; Sambuljeseok, who presides over childbirth; Chilseongnim, a deity commonly seen in folk belief; Yongwangdaesin, depicted together with a dragon; Great Master Muhak, wearing a pointed hood; Naonggnim, who had been royal preceptor to King Gongmin of Goryeo; Ataejo, a depiction of King Taejo of Joseon; and Hogwiassi, seated with two boys before her. Above these paintings hang the myeongdu, round brass objects reminiscent of ancient bronze mirrors, which serve as tokens of succession among shamans. The shamanistic paintings of Guksadang are distinguished from those in ordinary shamans' shrines or other gutdang by their superior brushwork and dignified quality. In particular, most of the paintings hanging in the large main hall are considered outstanding works, painted in the first half of the 19th century by artists of near-court-painter standard. Being relatively old and of high artistic quality, these paintings are valued as important material for research into Joseon-period shamanistic concepts of deities and into shrines such as Guksadang.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산