Sammaksa Temple Myeongbujeon Hall

The Myeongbujeon ('Hall of the Underworld') represents myeongbu, the court of the underworld where a person's deeds in life are judged after death. It principally enshrines images of the Siwang, the Ten Kings who preside over the ten judgements, and of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who delivers sentient beings from suffering. It is also known by other names such as Siwangjeon or Jijangjeon Hall. At Sammaksa Temple, the wooden plaque on the building reads 'Myeongwangjeon' rather than 'Myeongbujeon.' The present Myeongbujeon building was erected in 1880 under the direction of the monk Uimin. In form, long-dressed granite blocks are stacked in three tiers to form the platform; natural stones, roughly trimmed, serve as the foundation stones above this, with round columns forming the body of the building. The roof is a gable roof, with sloping tiled surfaces at front and back. The bracket work set between roof and columns, which bears the weight of the roof and lends the building a decorative richness, is of the simple type known as ikgong. A door is fitted at the front of the building, while the two sides and the rear are enclosed by hwabangbyeok, walls of stone and lime plaster built up to about a person's height to keep fire from spreading easily. Inside, the floor is wooden, and the altar is set against the rear wall, with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva at its centre flanked on either side by the Ten Kings, and guardian figures (Inwang) standing at both ends. Though the Myeongbujeon of Sammaksa Temple is only one of several Buddhist halls at the temple and is not a building of especially high rank, it displays rich ornament in the lotus-bud and lotus-flower carvings of its brackets and in the dragon-head carving inside. This opulence, together with the construction of the hwabangbyeok wall, reflects characteristic features of temple architecture from the late nineteenth century.

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Where it is

Region

Anyang, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료