• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.35-52
• /
• 2019

As public services are provided in various forms, including e-government, the level of public demand for public service quality is increasing. Although continuous measurement and improvement of the quality of public services is needed to improve the quality of public services, traditional surveys are costly and time-consuming and have limitations. Therefore, there is a need for an analytical technique that can measure the quality of public services quickly and accurately at any time based on the data generated from public services. In this study, we analyzed the quality of public services based on data using process mining techniques for civil licensing services in N city. It is because the N city's building license complaint service can secure data necessary for analysis and can be spread to other institutions through public service quality management. This study conducted process mining on a total of 3678 building license complaint services in N city for two years from January 2014, and identified process maps and departments with high frequency and long processing time. According to the analysis results, there was a case where a department was crowded or relatively few at a certain point in time. In addition, there was a reasonable doubt that the increase in the number of complaints would increase the time required to complete the complaints. According to the analysis results, the time required to complete the complaint was varied from the same day to a year and 146 days. The cumulative frequency of the top four departments of the Sewage Treatment Division, the Waterworks Division, the Urban Design Division, and the Green Growth Division exceeded 50% and the cumulative frequency of the top nine departments exceeded 70%. Higher departments were limited and there was a great deal of unbalanced load among departments. Most complaint services have a variety of different patterns of processes. Research shows that the number of 'complementary' decisions has the greatest impact on the length of a complaint. This is interpreted as a lengthy period until the completion of the entire complaint is required because the 'complement' decision requires a physical period in which the complainant supplements and submits the documents again. In order to solve these problems, it is possible to drastically reduce the overall processing time of the complaints by preparing thoroughly before the filing of the complaints or in the preparation of the complaints, or the 'complementary' decision of other complaints. By clarifying and disclosing the cause and solution of one of the important data in the system, it helps the complainant to prepare in advance and convinces that the documents prepared by the public information will be passed. The transparency of complaints can be sufficiently predictable. Documents prepared by pre-disclosed information are likely to be processed without problems, which not only shortens the processing period but also improves work efficiency by eliminating the need for renegotiation or multiple tasks from the point of view of the processor. The results of this study can be used to find departments with high burdens of civil complaints at certain points of time and to flexibly manage the workforce allocation between departments. In addition, as a result of analyzing the pattern of the departments participating in the consultation by the characteristics of the complaints, it is possible to use it for automation or recommendation when requesting the consultation department. In addition, by using various data generated during the complaint process and using machine learning techniques, the pattern of the complaint process can be found. It can be used for automation / intelligence of civil complaint processing by making this algorithm and applying it to the system. This study is expected to be used to suggest future public service quality improvement through process mining analysis on civil service.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.101-108
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted to confirm the mass production of male pupae and sex-limited larval marking variety as a host for synnemata production of Isaria tenupes in RDA(Rural Development Administration). Silkworm pupation, infection rate and synnemate formation of I.tenuipes were examined. Among the silkworm varieties tested, male Hansaengjam showed the highest pupation rate at 98.7%. I. tenuipes infection rate of larvae of newly-exuviated 5th instar silkworm was 83.7 ~ 90.4% in the spring rearing season and 91.7 ~ 96.6% in the autumn rearing season. Synnemata production of I. tenuipes was execellent in female Yangwonjam with an incidence rate of 99.5% followed by male Yangwonjam(99.5%) and Baegokjam(99.4%) in the spring and autumn rearing season. Synnemata living weight ranged from 0.93 ~ 1.25 g in the spring rearing season. The female Hansaengjam had the heaviest synnemata weight(1.25 g). Synnemata dry weight ranged from 0.27 ~ 0.35 g in the spring rearing season. The female Yangwonjam had the heaviest synnemata weight(0.35 g).

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
• /
• no.18
• /
• pp.513-557
• /
• 2009

The procession depicted in Goguryeo's ancient tomb mural consists of guards, honor guards, music band, and performing artists. Since this coincides with the royal processions of Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties, the relationship of its impact can be examined. The performing arts appearing in such street procession were mostly sanakbaekhui. During the Goryeo Dynasty, the king visited Bongeunsa templ when the lotus lantern festival was celebrated. At such time, on the left and right sides of the road travelled by the king were installed mountains made of lanterns and trees made of lanterns. The procession was quite large in scale and was accompanied by colorful music and performances. In the narye ceremony of the Goryeo Dynasty, as in China, street procession and performing arts took place. The jisinbarbgi performed by a peasant band in early January is a custom of narye. A new character appears in the royal narye during the first half of the Joseon period. Therefore the features of narye transforming according to the changes of the times can be examined. In the Joseon Dynasty's procession of a king returning to the palace, the royal band in front and behind the carriage of the king played marching music, and led by a sanbung this street procession headed toward the palace. Various performances also took place during this time. The samilyuga and munhuiyeon were festivals of the yangban class(nobility). Those who passed the state examination hired musicians and performers and paraded around town in Seoul for three days to celebrate the auspicious outcome for their family and to show off their family's power. In the Joseon's dongje and eupchijeui ceremonies, street processions were carried out with a shrine deity image or symbolic flag at the head. The dongje in a Korean village, combined with jisinbarbgi, incorporated a procession with the flags ymbolizing the guardian deity of the village at the head, and this went from house to house. The procession of suyeongyaru had the publicity impact of a mask play performance, and by creating a sense of unity among the participants, heightened the celebratory atmosphere. At the core of the bukcheonggun toseongri gwanweonnori was as treet procession imitating the traveling of high government officials. The toseong gwanweonnori has the folk religion function of praying for safe human living and abundance of grains for the village, the entertainment function of having fun and joy through street processions and various performances, and the social function of creating unity and harmony among the residents. In all the aforementioned events, the street procession had a large role in creating a celebratory atmosphere, and the performance of traditional performing arts in the middle of the procession or after the procession enabled the participants to feel united. The participants of the street procession felt cultural pride and self-confidence through the various events and they were able to have the opportunity to show off and proudly display their abilities.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.25-34
• /
• 2019

Objectives : This study aimed to compare the psychosocial characteristics among patients with functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID), adults with functional gastrointestinal symptoms, and normal control group and investigate factors related to quality of life (QoL) of FGID patients. Methods : 65 patients diagnosed with FGID were selected. 79 adults were selected as normal control group based on the Rome III diagnostic criteria, and 88 adults who showed functional gastrointestinal symptoms were selected as "FGID positive group". Demographic factors were investigated. Psychosocial factors were evaluated using the Korean-Beck Depression Inventory-II, Korean-Beck Anxiety Inventory, Korean-Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and WHO Quality of Life Assessment Instrument Brief Form. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences among groups. Pearson correlation test was used to analyze correlations between QoL and psychosocial factors in patients with FGID. Results : There were group differences in the education level. Depression (F=29.012, p<0.001), anxiety (F=27.954, p<0.001) and Childhood trauma (F=7.748, p<0.001) were significantly higher in FGID patient group than in both FGID-positive and normal control group. Social support (F=5,123, p<0.001), Resilience (F=9.623, p<0.001) and QoL (F=35.991, p<0.001) were significantly lower in the FGID patient group than in others. QoL of FGID patients showed a positive correlation with resilience (r=0.475, p<0.01), and showed a negative correlation with depression (r=-0.641, p<0.01), anxiety (r=-0.641, p<0.01), and childhood trauma (r=-0.278, p<0.05). Conclusions : FGID patients have distinctive psychosocial factors compared to the both FGID-positive and normal control group. Therefore, the active interventions for psychosocial factors are required in the treatment of patients with FGID.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.196-221
• /
• 2011

The Royal Private Shrines or the Samyo(私廟), were dedicated to members of Choseon's royal family who could not be enshrined at the (official) Royal Ancestral Shrine, the Jongmyo(宗廟). The Samyo were constructed at the national level and were systematically managed as such. Because these private Shrines were dedicated to those who couldn't belong to the Jongmyo but were still very important, such as the ruling king's biological father or mother. The details of all royal constructions were included in the State Event Manuals, and with them, the two-dimensional layouts of the Samyo also. From the remaining "Hyunsa-gung Private Tomb Construction Layout Record(顯思宮別廟營建都監儀軌)" of 1824, which is the construction record of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine(景祐宮) dedicated to Subin, the mother of King Sunjo(純祖), it became possible to investigate the so far unknown "The Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine", in terms of the year produced, materials used and other situational contexts. The investigation revealed that the "The Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine" is actually the "Hyunsa-gung Private Tomb Layout" produced by the Royal Construction Bureau. The bureau painted this to build Hyunsa-gung Private Shrine in a separately prepared site outside the court in 1824, according to the royal verdict to close down and move the temporary shrine inside the courtyard dedicated to Subin who had passed away in 1822. As the Construction Bureau must have also produced the Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine Layout, the painter(s) of this layout should exist among the official artists listed in the State Event Manual, but sadly, as their paintings have not survived to this day, we cannot compare their painting styles. The biggest stylistic character of the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine is its perfect diagonal composition method and detailed and neat portrayalof the many palace buildings, just as seen in Donggwoldo(東闕圖, Painting of a panoramic view for Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces). A well-perceiving architectural painting employs a specific point of view chosen to fit the purpose of the painting, or it can opt to the multi-viewpoint. Korean traditional architectural paintings in early ages utilized the diagonal composition method, the bird-eye viewpoint, or the multi-viewpoint. By the 18th century, detailed but also artistic architectural paintings utilizing the diagonal method are observed. In the early 19th century, the peak of such techniques is exhibited in Donggwoldo(Painting of a panoramic view for Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces). From the perfect diagonal composition method employed and the details of the palace buildings numbering almost two hundreds, we can determine that the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine also belongs to the same category of the highly technical architectural paintings as Donggwoldo(Painting of a panoramic view for Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces). We can also confirm this hypothesis by comparing the painting techniques employed in these two paintings in detailthe way trees and houses are depicted, and the way ground texture is expressed, etc. The unique characteristic of the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine is, however, that the area surrounding the central shrine building(正堂), the most important area of the shrine, is drawn using not the diagonal method but the bird-eye viewpoint with the buildings lying flat on both the left and right sides, just as seen in the "Buildings Below the Central Shrine(正堂以下諸處)" in the State Event Manual's Painting Method section. The same viewpoint method is discovered in some other concurrent paintings of common residential buildings, so it is not certain that this particular viewpoint had been a distinctive feature for shrine paintings in general. On the other hand, when the diagonalmethod pointing to the left direction is chosen, the top-left and bottom-right sections of the painting become inevitably empty. This has been the case for the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine, but in contrast, Donggwoldo shows perfect screen composition with these empty margins filled up with different types of trees and other objects. Such difference is consistent with the different situational contexts of these two paintings: the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine is a simple single-sheet painting, while Donggwoldo is a perfected work of painting book given an official title. Therefore, if Donggwoldo was produced to fulfill the role of depiction and documentation as well as the aesthetic purpose, contrastingly, the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine only served the purpose of copying the circumstances of the architecture and projecting them onto the painting.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.178-199
• /
• 2011

The ancient tombs found in Bokcheon-dong, Busan originate from the time between the $4^{th}$ and $5^{th}$ centuries, the period of the Three Nations. They are known as the tombs where the Vertical Plate Armour was mainly buried. In 2006, two units of the Vertical Plate Armour were additionally investigated in the tombs No.164 and No.165 which had been constructed at the end of the eastern slope near the hill of the group of ancient tombs in Bokcheon-dong. Throughout this study, the contents of the two units of the Vertical Plate Armour, whose preservation process has been completed, have been arranged, while the group of constructed ancient tombs in Bokcheon-dong from the $4^{th}$ century has been observed through the consideration of the burial pattern. The units of the Vertical Plate Armour from the tombs No.164 and No.165 can be classified as the IIa-typed armor showing the Gyeongju and Ulsan patterns, according to the attribute of the manufacturing technology. Also, they can be chronologically recorded as those from the early period of Stage II among the three stages regarding the chronological recording of the Vertical Plate Armour. While more than two units of the Vertical Plate Armour were buried in the largesized tomb on the top of the hill of the group of ancient tombs, one unit of the Vertical Plate Armour was buried in the small-sized tomb. By considering such a trend, it can be said that in the stage of burying the armor showing the Gyeongju and Ulsan patterns (I-type and IIa-type), different units of the Vertical Plate Armour were buried according to the size of the tomb. However, as the armor showing the Busan pattern (IIb-type) was settled, only one unit was buried. Meanwhile, the tombs No.164 and No.165 can be included in the wooden chamber tomb showing the Gyeongju pattern, which is a slender rectangular wooden chamber tomb with the aspect ratio of more than 1:3. However, according to the trend shown by the buried earthenware, it can be said that there seem to be common types and patterns shared with the earthenware which has been found in the area of Gimhae and is called the one showing the Geumgwan Gaya pattern. In other words, there seem to be close relationships between the subject tombs and the tomb No.3 in Gujeong-dong and the tomb No.55 in Sara-ri, Gyeongju, regarding the types of armor and tombs and the arrangement of buried artifacts. However, the buried earthenware shows a relationship with the areas of Busan and Gimhae. By considering the combined trend of the Gyeongju and Gimhae elements found in one tomb, it is possible to assume that the group of constructed ancient tombs in Bokcheon-dong used to be actively related with both areas. It has been thought that the Vertical Plate Armour used to be the exclusive property of the upper hierarchy until now, since it was buried in the large-sized tomb located on the top of the hill of the group of ancient tombs in Bokcheondong. However, as shown in case of the tombs No.164 and No.165, it has been verified that the Vertical Plate Armour was also buried in the small-sized tomb in terms of such factors as locations, sizes, the amount of buried artifacts and the qualitative aspect. Therefore, it is impossible to discuss the hierarchical characteristic of the tomb just based on the buried units of the Vertical Plate Armour. Also, it is difficult to assume that armor used to symbolize the domination of the military forces. The hierarchical characteristic of the group of constructed ancient tombs in Bokcheon-dong from the $4^{th}$ century can be verified according to the location and size of each tomb. As are sult, the re seem to be some differences regarding the buried units of the vertical plate armour. However, it would be necessary to carry out amore multilateral examination in order to find out whether the burial of the vertical plate armour could be regarded as the artifact which symbolizes the status or class of the deceased.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.86-103
• /
• 2016

'Sukchunjeahdo' illustration-book, which was left by Han, Pil-gyo(韓弼敎 : 1807~1878)in the late Joseon Dynasty, includes pictorial record paintings containing government offices, Eupchi, and Feng Shui condition drawn by Gyehwa(界畵) method Sabangjeondomyobeop(四方顚倒描法) and is the rare historical material that help to understand spatial structure and landscape characteristics. Youngyuhyun(永柔縣) and Sincheongun(信川郡) town, the case sites of this study, show Feng Shui foundation structure and placement rules of government offices in the Joseon Period are applied such as 3Dan 1Myo(三壇一廟 : Sajikdan, Yeodan, Seonghwangdan, Hyanggyo), 3Mun 3Jo(三門三朝 : Oeah, Dongheon, Naeah) and Jeonjohuchim(前朝後寢) etc. by setting the upper and lower hierarchy of the north south central axis. The circulation system is the pattern that roads are segmented around the marketplace of the entrance of the town and the structure is that heading to the north along the internal way leads to the government office and going out to the main street leads to the major city. Baesanimsu(背山臨水 : Mountain in backward and water in front) foundation, back hill pine forest, intentionally created low mountains and town forest etc. showed landscape aesthetics well suited for the environmental comfort condition such as microclimate control, natural disaster prevention, psychological stability reflecting color constancy principle etc. and tower pavilions were built throughout the scenic spot, reflecting life philosophy and thoughts of contemporaries such as physical and mental discipline, satisfied at the reality of poverty, returning to nature etc. For government office landscape, shielding and buffer planting, landscape planting etc. were considered around Gaeksa(客舍), Dongheon(東軒), Naeah(內衙) backyard and deciduous tree s and flowering trees were cultivated as main species and in case of Gaeksa, tiled pavilions and pavilions topped with poke weed in tetragonal pond were introduced to Dongheon and Naeah and separate pavilions were built for the purpose of physical and mental discipline and military training such as archery. Back hill pine tree forest formed back landscape and zelkova, pear trees, willow trees, old pine trees, lotus, flowering trees etc. were cultivated as gardening trees and Feng-Shui forest with willow trees as its main species was created for landscape and practical purposes. On the other hand, various cultural landscape elements etc. were introduced such as pavilions, pond serving as fire protection water(square and circle), stone pagoda and stone Buddha, fountains and wells, monument houses, flagpoles etc. In case of Sincheongun town forest(邑藪), Manhagwan(挽河觀), Moonmujeong(文武井), Sangjangdae(上場岱) and Hajangdae(下場岱) Market place, Josanshup<(造山藪 : Dongseojanglim(東西長林)>, Namcheon(南川) etc. were combined and community cultural park with the nature of modern urban park was operated. In this context, government office landscape shows the garden management aspect where square pond and pavilions, flowering trees are harmonized around side pavilion and backyard. Also, environmental design technique not biased to aesthetics and ideological moral philosophy and comprehensively considering functionality (shielding and fire prevention, microclimate control, etc.) and environmental soundness etc. is working.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.2-31
• /
• 2020

CheomSeongDae (瞻星臺) is a stone structure built in Gyeongju, the former Silla Dynasty capital, during the reign of Queen Seondeok (632~647AD). There exist dozens of hypotheses regarding its original purpose. Depending on to whom you ask, the answer could be a celestial observatory, a religious altar, a Buddhist stupa, a monumental tower symbolizing scientific knowledge, and so on. The most common perception of the structure among lay people is a stargazing tower. Historians, however, have suggested that it was intended as "a gateway to the heavens", specifically the Trāyastriṃśa or the second of the six heavens of Kāmadhātu located on the top of Mountain Sumeru. The name "Cheom-seong-dae" could be interpreted in many different ways. 'Cheom (瞻)' could refer to looking up, staring, or admiring, etc.; 'Seong (星)' could mean a star, heaven, night, etc.; and 'heaven' in that context can be a physical or religious reference. 'Dae (臺)' usually refers to a high platform on which people stand or things are placed. Researchers from the science fields often read 'cheom-seong' as 'looking at stars'; while historians read it as 'admiring the Trāyastriṃśa' or 'adoring Śakra'. Śakra is said to be the ruler of Trāyastriṃśa' who governs the Four Heavenly Kings in the Cāturmahārājika heaven, the first of the six heavens of Kāmadhātu. Śakra is the highest authority of the heavenly kings in direct contact with humankind. This paper examined the usages of 'cheom-seong' in Chinese literature dated prior to the publication of 『Samguk Yusa』, a late 13th century Korean Buddhist historical book that contains the oldest record of the structure among all extant historical texts. I found the oldest usage of cheom-seong (瞻星臺) in 『Ekottara Āgama』, a Buddhist script translated into Chinese in the late 4th century, and was surprised to learn that its meaning was 'looking up at the brightness left by Śakra'. I also found that 'cheom-seong' had been incorporated in various religious contexts, such as Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhist, Christianism, and Taoism. In Buddhism, there was good, bad, and neutral cheom-seong. Good cheom-seong meant to look up to heaven in the practice of asceticism, reading the heavenly god's intentions, and achieving the mindfulness of Buddhism. Bad cheom-seong included all astrological fortunetelling activities performed outside the boundaries of Buddhism. Neutral cheom-seong is secular. It may help people to understand the nature of the physical world, but was considered to have little meaning unless relating to the spiritual world of Buddhism. Cheom-seong had been performed repetitively in the processes of constructing Buddhist temples in China. According to Buddhist scripts, Queen Māyā of Sakya, the birth mother of Gautama Buddha, died seven days after the birth of Buddha, and was reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. Buddha, before reaching nirvana, ascended from Jetavana to Trāyastriṃśa and spent three months together with his mother. Gautama Buddha then returned to the human world, stepping upon the stairs built by Viśvakarman, the deity of the creative power in Trāyastriṃśa. In later years, King Asoka built a stupa at the site where Buddha descended. Since then, people have believed that the stairway to the heavens appears at a Buddhist stupa. Carefully examining the paragraphic structure of 『Samguk Yusa』's records on Cheomseongdae, plus other historical records, the fact that the alignment between the tomb of Queen Seondeok and Cheomseongdae perfectly matches the sunrise direction at the winter solstice supports this paper's position that Chemseongdae, built in the early years of Queen SeonDeok's reign (632~647AD), was a gateway to the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, just like the stupa at the Daci Temple (慈恩寺) in China built in 654. The meaning of 'Cheom-seong-dae' thus turns out to be 'adoring Trāyastriṃśa stupa', not 'stargazing platform'.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
• /
• v.98
• /
• pp.22-53
• /
• 2020

This paper analyzes the contents, characteristics, and historical significance of the dedicatory inscriptions (josanggi) on the Amitabha Buddha and the Maitreya Bodhisattva statues of Gamsansa Temple, two masterpieces of Buddhist sculpture from the Unified Silla period. In the first section, I summarize research results from the past century (divided into four periods), before presenting a new perspective and methodology that questions the pre-existing notion that the Maitreya Bodhisattva has a higher rank than the Amitabha Buddha. In the second section, through my own analysis of the dedicatory inscriptions, arrangement, and overall appearance of the two images, I assert that the Amitabha Buddha sculpture actually held a higher rank and greater significance than the Maitreya Bodhisattva sculpture. In the third section, for the first time, I provide a new interpretation of two previously undeciphered characters from the inscriptions. In addition, by comparing the sentence structures from the respective inscriptions and revising the current understanding of the author (chanja) and calligrapher (seoja), I elucidate the possible meaning of some ambiguous phrases. Finally, in the fourth section, I reexamine the content of both inscriptions, differentiating between the parts relating to the patron (josangju), the dedication (josang), and the prayers of the patrons or donors (balwon). In particular, I argue that the phrase "for my deceased parents" is not merely a general axiom, but a specific reference. To summarize, the dedicatory inscriptions can be interpreted as follows: when Kim Jiseong's parents died, they were cremated and he scattered most of their remains by the East Sea. But years later, he regretted having no physical memorial of them to which to pay his respects. Thus, in his later years, he donated his estate on Gamsan as alms and led the construction of Gamsansa Temple. He then commissioned the production of the two stone sculptures of Amitabha Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva for the temple, asking that they be sculpted realistically to reflect the actual appearance of his parents. Finally, he enshrined the remains of his parents in the sculptures through the hole in the back of the head (jeonghyeol). The Maitreya Bodhisattva is a standing image with a nirmanakaya, or "transformation Buddha," on the crown. As various art historians have pointed out, this iconography is virtually unprecedented among Maitreya images in East Asian Buddhist sculpture, leading some to speculate that the standing image is actually the Avalokitesvara. However, anyone who reads the dedicatory inscription can have no doubt that this image is in fact the Maitreya. To ensure that the sculpture properly embodied his mother (who wished to be reborn in Tushita Heaven with Maitreya Bodhisattva), Kim Jiseong combined the iconography of the Maitreya and Avalokitesvara (the reincarnation of compassion). Hence, Kim Jiseong's deep love for his mother motivated him to modify the conventional iconography of the Maitreya and Avalokitesvara. A similar sentiment can be found in the sculpture of Amitabha Buddha. To this day, any visitor to the temple who first looks at the sculptures from the front before reading the text on the back will be deeply touched by the filial love of Kim Jiseong, who truly cherished the memory of his parents.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
• /
• v.98
• /
• pp.176-199
• /
• 2020

In 2018, the National Museum of Korea purchased a pair of Japanese folding screens, respectively entitled Gathering on the Year's First "Day of the Rat" and Boating on the Oi River. Both of these two screens (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "NMK edition") have a gold background that bears the seal and ink inscription of Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1700-1772), who served as edokoro azukari, a painter in the court of Kyoto. According to the seller in New York, the screens were brought from Japan to the United States in the early twentieth century, but no other details are known. Each folding screen has six panels. The screen on the right (i.e., Gathering…) depicts "nenohi no asobi," an annual event conducted on the first "day of the rat" (according to the Asian zodiacal calendar), wherein the Kyoto imperial court ventured to the woods to gather pine seedlings. The left screen (i.e., Boating…) shows three boats traveling down the Oi River in Kyoto, representing the ritual known as "mifune" (literally, "three boats"), which involves three boats representing Chinese classical poetry (kansi), Japanese classical poetry (waka), and Japanese imperial music and dance (gagaku). Notably, these two screens are identical in theme and iconography to two screens with the same respective titles that were commissioned by Emperor Komei (1831-1867) and painted by Ukita Ikkei (1795-1859), an artist of the Yamato-e Revivalist School (fukko yamato-e), now in the collection of Sennyu-ji Temple in Kyoto (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Sennyu edition"). While both of these themes have been painted independently numerous times, the NMK edition and Sennyu edition are the only known cases of the themes being painted as a single set. According to Diary of Official Business Between the Court and Shogunate (the journal of a court official named Hirohashi Kanetane, 1715-1781), Tosa Mitsuyoshi was commissioned in 1760 to replace the fusuma (rectangular sliding panels) of Tsunegoten, one of the buildings of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which had been built in 1709. Notably, records show that Tsunegoten once contained a series of fusuma painted by an artist of the Kano school on the themes "Outdoor Procession on a Spring Day" and "Three Boats Cruising on the Oi River." Hence, it seems probable that Tosa Mitsuyoshi was influenced by the theme and iconography of the existing fusuma in producing his own folding screens depicting the court's visit to the forest and a cruise on the Oi River. While the practice of collecting pine seedlings on the first "rat day" of the year was an auspicious event to pray for longevity, the mifune ritual was intended to honor the greatest talents of the three aforementioned arts, which were of crucial importance to the court of Kyoto. Folding screens with such auspicious themes were commonly featured at the ceremony to enthrone the emperor or empress. Significantly, the Diary of Official Business Between the Court and Shogunate also records that Tosa Mitsuyoshi, while working as a court artist, produced two pairs of folding screens for the coronation of Empress Go Sakuramachi (1762-1771), which was held in 1763. Hence, research suggests that the NMK edition is one of the pairs of royal folding screens produced at that time.