Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings Painting of Boeunsa Temple, Boeun

Boeunsa Temple stands within Samnyeonsanseong Fortress; according to the Boeun County Gazetteer, it was founded in 1902 by the monk Bak Gyeong-ha. This Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings Painting of Boeunsa Temple, for which Geumhodang Yakhyo served as geumeo (the chief painter of a Buddhist mural) and which was produced together with Manchong and Beobim, is arranged around the principal image of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, flanked left and right by three rows of attendant figures. The principal image wears a petal-shaped head halo and body halo, holds a transparent wish-fulfilling jewel in the left hand, and sits in yuhuija, a relaxed, playful posture. Among the attendants are Domyeong Jonja, holding a staff that bears a small Buddha image, and Mudok Gwiwang, one of Ksitigarbha's attendant kings, whose official's cap has a sutra case tied to it; the Ten Kings stand in attendance across the first and second rows, while the third row depicts boy and girl attendants, underworld judges, a messenger who reports directly to the Ten Kings, and the ox-headed and horse-headed rakshasa. This work is notable for having been modelled on the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Painting of Yongmunsa Temple in Yecheon (1813), painted by Toeundang Singyeom — who was active in Gyeongsang Province and for a time at Songnisan Mountain — together with Dujan, Jeongmin and Seongmin. Apart from the fact that Ksitigarbha's staff has here been moved into the hand of Domyeong Jonja, the form of the principal image in both works is identical, though compared with the Yongmunsa work the number of attendant figures has been reduced and some formal changes introduced; in particular, the uniform horizontal arrangement of the attendants is a recurring feature of Singyeom's compositions. The lower right of the painting is torn, and the upper part is also partly damaged. This painting was donated solely in the name of the deceased Hwagokdang Imseong. It is thought that Tan-eungdang Donhyeong, upholding Hwagokdang's wishes expressed during his lifetime, took charge as hwaju — the monk responsible for organising donations — and carried the project through. Besides this painting, the same group produced as a set, the following year in 1897, the Eight Scenes of the Buddha's Life for Palsangjeon Hall, the Painting of the 104 Guardian Deities for Daeungbojeon Hall, and the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Painting and Guardian Deities Painting for Wontongjeon Hall, all at Beopjusa Temple. The painting's inscription further records several hermitages — Bokcheonam, Jungsajaam, Sanghwanam and Yeojeogam — and the monks residing there, information that also appears in the inscription of the "Crossing the Wall to Leave Home" scene of the Eight Scenes (naming Bokcheonam, Jungsajaam, Sanghwanam, Dosolam, Sanggoam and Sujeongam). This painting is one work from a large-scale, collective project of Buddhist painting production carried out at Beopjusa Temple between 1896 and 1897. It is notable that Yakhyo, commissioned for the work, pursued the painting manual and painting style of his senior painter Singyeom. With its date of production clearly established and the list of donors recorded from Beopjusa's main temple and its subordinate hermitages — Bokcheonam, Sanghwanam and Yeojeogam among others — this is a valuable resource for understanding the techniques and character of regional Buddhist painting production.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Boeun, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산