Gwisinsa Temple Seoksu

This stands in front of the three-storey stone pagoda of Gwisinsa Temple: above the back of a crouching stone lion sits a namgeunseok, a stone carved in the shape of the male genitals. The lion raises its head and looks straight ahead, and is rendered in a highly realistic manner. The stone phallus is formed in two tiers, its lower section carved with faint node-like ridges resembling those of bamboo. Sculptures of this kind are extremely rare to find within a Buddhist temple, and two theories have been put forward to explain it. One holds that, because the site was thought unfavourable in terms of pungsu, or geomancy, the sculpture was erected to suppress this. The other holds that, since temples housing a stone phallus of this kind were originally found only at naewon sachal - temples maintained exclusively for the private prayers of a royal family - the Baekje royal family in this case, this suggests that the temple must date from the Baekje period. The exact date of its creation has not yet been firmly established, but its distinctive form, without close parallel elsewhere, and its realistic carving alone make this a work of considerable value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimje, Jeonbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산