Ksitigarbha Painting of Jijangam Hermitage

This is the Ksitigarbha Painting of Jijangam Hermitage, at present enshrined as the rear icon behind the Sakyamuni Buddha statue in Daeungjeon Hall. According to its inscription, it was made in 1899, the third year of the Gwangmu era, and originally enshrined in the Chilseonggak Hall of Cheongnyongam Hermitage on Samgaksan Mountain; the monk-painters Yungam and Jaegyeom, among others, took part in its production. The painting has a stepped composition of three registers to left and right, centred on the figure of Ksitigarbha, with the Ten Kings of the underworld and their retinues arranged around him. At the centre of the wide horizontal painting, the Ksitigarbha figure forms a triangular grouping with the Venerable Domyeong and the ghost king Mudok, while the images of the Ten Kings are set out in two further horizontal rows. In the uppermost register are ranged messengers holding scrolls, a young female attendant, generals and jailers, a magistrate, and the Eight Kinds of Divine Beings. The principal Ksitigarbha figure has a monk's shaved head beneath a transparent hood, with rays of light streaming from its crown. The head is square, the eyebrows thin, and the eyes, nose and mouth are drawn towards the centre of the face; the green beard is stylised. The right hand is raised to chest height with thumb and middle finger touching, while the left hand, held near the abdomen, bears a wish-fulfilling jewel on its palm, thumb and middle finger likewise touching. The body is reasonably proportioned, but the shoulders are broad and almost square, giving a somewhat stiff appearance. Both the head halo and the body halo are circular double rings of light, the head halo green and the body halo rendered in gold leaf. The robe covers both shoulders; the red outer garment is patterned with circular gold motifs, and its hem is decorated with a lotus design. A simple beaded ornament is shown on the chest, and the plain horizontal band of the inner sash is decorated with a simple floral motif. The colouring is predominantly red and green throughout, with blue used in the costumes of the Ten Kings and in the space across the top of the painting; the spaces between the figures are filled with yellow clouds. The inscription records the following. Among those involved in its making: the certifying monk Hamyeong Beopdam; the chanting monk Buri Jaun; the master painter monks Myeongeung Yungam and Jaegyeom. Among the donors: a male donor born in the gyeong-o year, of the Yi clan; a female donor born in the gyeong-o year, of the Hong clan; a male donor born in the byeong-ja year, of the Yi clan; a child born in the mu-sul year, of the A clan; a male donor born in the gap-in year, of the Yi clan; a female donor born in the eul-myo year, of the Kim clan; a male donor born in the mu-o year, of the Min clan; a female donor born in the sin-mi year, of the Park clan; a male donor born in the sin-yu year, of the Yun clan; a female donor born in the gi-sa year, of the Choe clan; and a laywoman named Udamhwa, born in the gi-chuk year, of the Kim clan. The supervisor was the lay devotee Baek Yeonsim, the deputy supervisor the lay devotee Yi Seongwol, and the fundraising monk the lay devotee Kim Jeongin. It was enshrined on a day in the third month of 1899 in the Chilseonggak Hall of Cheongnyongam Hermitage on Samgaksan Mountain, with the dedication that all beings might, through this merit, attain the way of Buddhahood. This painting is a Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings painting of the late nineteenth century that fully displays the formal and stylistic features of Ksitigarbha paintings of the period, and is valuable material for examining the forms of religious belief current at the time.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산