Nam‧buk Three-story Stone Pagoda at Ganwolsa Temple Site

The two stone pagodas follow the style of eighth-century Silla stone pagodas, with two corner pillars carved on both the upper and lower tiers of the base. They show consistency in construction, such as five tiers of roof-stone supports on the pagoda body at every storey, and two tiers of support beneath the finial base at each storey. Most notable are the relief carvings on the first-storey pagoda body. Both pagodas have a large door-shaped panel carved in the centre, flanked by Vajrapani guardian figures (geumgang-yeoksa), the divine protectors of the door, shown in a martial-arts stance. The composition of the carving is the same on both, but there are differences of detail. In both cases the guardian stands on a rock pedestal with one hand raised as if about to strike downward, but on the south pagoda a door ring in the shape of an auspicious beast is carved inside the door panel and the guardian's head bears a round halo, whereas on the north pagoda the ring inside the door panel is omitted and the guardian's halo is likewise omitted. The carving of the door panel and the Vajrapani guardians on the first-storey body strongly suggests that sarira relics were enshrined inside the body of the pagoda.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Ulju, Ulsan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산