Lion Stone Pagoda at Jurisa Temple Site, Haman

This is a stone pagoda of the Unified Silla period, now located at Hamseong Middle School. It originally stood at the site of Jurisa Temple in Juseo-ri, Yeohang-myeon, and was moved to the township office during the Japanese colonial period before being relocated again to its present site after Korea's liberation. Placing four lions on the base gives it a distinctive appearance unlike ordinary stone pagodas: four lions are set on a roof-shaped stone resting on the plinth, and above them rises a pagoda body that appears to have had five storeys, though one of the body stones is now missing. The pagoda's exact original form, estimated to have had either three or five storeys, cannot be known for certain, but comparison with similarly styled pagodas — the Four-Lion Three-story Stone Pagoda at Hwaeomsa Temple in Gurye, the Four-Lion Three-story Stone Pagoda at the Geumjangam Hermitage Site in Hoeyang, and the Four-Lion Stone Pagoda at the Binsinsa Temple Site in Jecheon — suggests that its base once included a section incorporating four lions. The lions sit facing forward with their paws drawn neatly together and their backs touching; the carving is simple, yet the form of each part is clearly rendered. On each body stone of the pagoda, pillar shapes are carved at the corners, and the roof stones curve upward at their four corners. It is rare for a pagoda base to incorporate lion figures in this way, and it is regrettable that the original form has not been preserved intact. Judging from the style of the surviving pagoda members, it is presumed to have been built during the Unified Silla period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Haman, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산