Ksitigarbha Ten Kings Statues of Yongchusa Temple, Hamyang

These are twelve Buddhist statues enshrined in the Myeongbujeon—the hall dedicated to Ksitigarbha and the Ten Kings of the underworld—at Yongchusa Temple, centred on the principal image of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, flanked on the left by the Venerable Domyeong and on the right by the Ghost King Mudok, with the statues of the Ten Kings arranged to either side. The Ksitigarbha statue sits cross-legged with its back held straight and its face tilted slightly forward. The hands were carved separately and fitted on, with the first and third fingers bent to touch each other. The face is squarish, with narrow, elongated eyes and a prominent, high-bridged nose as distinctive features. On the short neck, the three folds known as samdo are lightly rendered. The outermost robe (daeui) is worn in a banda, or "half-bared", style covering the right shoulder and leaving the left bare, with a pyeonsam undergarment worn beneath it. The outer robe falls from the shoulder in stepped folds, and between the U-shaped opening of the robe a horizontal band, apparently a seunggakgi (chest sash), is visible below the chest. The hem of the inner skirt (gunui), which wraps only around the tip of the right sole, spreads out in a fan shape from the pair of cross-legged legs. The statues of Domyeong, the Ghost King Mudok and the Ten Kings were made by assembling separately carved parts. The statues of the Ten Kings all sit facing forward with both legs resting on chairs fitted with footrests, and are executed in an almost identical manner. Each wears a crown decorated with flowers, animals or cone shapes, and their hands take various forms — holding a ceremonial tablet (hol), stroking a beard, or holding a sutra book. The Kings usually sit with both legs hanging straight down, but unusually the Fourth King rests his feet on an elephant and the Seventh King has a lion beneath his legs. Each chair is separately assembled and fitted below with an obliquely sloping footrest; both sides of the chair-back are decorated with dragon-head ornaments and both ends of the armrests with phoenix-head ornaments, giving the chairs a splendid appearance. Meanwhile, the Vajra guardian (Inwang) statues placed on either side of the entrance to the Myeongbujeon are bare-chested above the waist, wear a waist sash, and hold a club in their hands. According to a consecration record (bokjanggi) found inside the statues, the Yongchusa Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings statues were made in the 20th year of King Sukjong of Joseon (1694). The sculptor's individuality is expressed in the faces of the figures, and with their splendid dragon-head and phoenix-head chair ornaments, these statues of the Ten Kings carry on the stylistic characteristics of the 16th century, the early Joseon period.

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Where it is

Region

Hamyang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산