• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.297-303
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• 2012

Samsebul, the altar portrait behind the statue of Buddha in the main building of Bonghwang temple in Andong, has been designated as Tangible Cultural Property No. 406. These alter portraits have significance as the standard of the research of Samsebul in Joseon period. In this study, fibre of the ground textile is identified using microscopic examination, solubility test, ATR-FT-IR, SEM, XRD. Two samples from Yaksabul(A, B), one sample from Seokgabul(C), and one sample from Amitabul(D), which were collected during the conservation process, were prepared for this study. In previous record, above samples were documented as hemp. Due to severe deterioration and accumulated dust layers on these samples, it was hard to recognize them with naked eyes, but through this study, we could identify that all samples except one from Yaksabul(A) are silk.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.8
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• pp.3-11
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• 2007

There is a Seated Stone Bhaishajyaguru-Vaidurya Buddha (Medicine Buddha) which was moved from Yongjang-gye in the garden of Gyeongju National Museum. The head was cemented on the body of the statue in 1974 before its display. Recently, we have done another conservation work on the statue because microbes and the other contaminants have built up on the surface and the restored part of the statue has loosened again. By taking r-ray pictures, we have checked the structure of the statue, especially the connected part and removed old materials used for the previous restoration. We reinforced the cracked parts, cleaned the surface, and then restored the statue. We finished the conservation process by adjusting the color.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.136-161
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• 2014

This paper investigates the Buddhist sculpture and wall-painting enshrined in the halls of Bunhwangsa (Bunhwang temple) at Gyeongju in the mid-Silla period, which are thoroughly unknown to us except through textual records of Samgukyusa compiled by Priest Ilyeon in the late thirteenth century. According to Samgukyusa, a clay portrait-sculpture of Monk Wonhyo, made by his son Seolchong, was placed in Bunhwangsa. This image faced to the side, because he turned his body toward Seolchong when Seolchong bowed to this image. This story suggests that the portrait image of Wonhyo was most likely made after the Vimalakirti images, which were popular in China from the Six Dynasties period on, especially the Vimalakirti images of the early Tang period, turning his head and body toward Bodhisattva Manjusi seated opposite. The Vimalakirti image of Seokkuram might show the portrait image of Wonhyo. A wall-painting of a Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara who has a thousand arms with a thousand eyes, called by the name 'Great Mercy with a Thousand Hands', was enshrined on the north wall of the left hall of Bunhwangsa. During King Gyeondeok's reign, Himyeong and her five-year-old blind child prayed before this image, and the blind child gained eyesight. While praying, they sang a song pleading for one of the thousand eyes which the Bodhisattva had in his hands. This song implies that Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara had a thousand eyes, one painted on each hand. The fact that Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara of Bunhwangsa was called 'Great Mercy with a Thousand Hands' indicates that this painting was based on the scripture Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara Sutra translated by Bhagavaddharma in about 655, in the Tang period, which also has 'Great Mercy' in its title. In the year 755, a gilt bronze image of Medicine Buddha was made in Bunhwangsa, using nearly 61 tons of bronze to cast. The huge amount of bronze suggests it includes not only the Buddha statue but many other images such as two attendant Bodhisattvas of Suryaprabha and Candraprabha, Eight Great Bodhisattvas, or Twelve Guardians. Seven images of Medicine Buddha might have been made in accordance with the scriptural text of Seven Medicine Buddha Sutra translated by Monk Yijing. Textual evidence and recent excavation have revealed that seven images of Medicine Buddha and their whole attendant images based on Seven Medicine Buddha Sutra were made in the Nara period from 751 to 762 when Queen Gomyo contructed Sinyakusiji temple for the recovery of her husband Shomu. It is fair to assume that one or seven Medicine Buddhas and a whole group of his (their) attendant images were made for the main hall of Bunhwangsa temple in 755.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.164-179
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• 2014

The Buddhas of the Three Words in a form of arranging Bhaiṣajyaguru and $Amit{\bar{a}}bha$ at its side based on ${\acute{S}}{\bar{a}}kyamuni$ at the center is enshrined in Daeungbojeon Hall of Daeheungsa Temple located at Haenam. So far, this Buddhas of the Three Words has been known as a wooden Buddha statue. However, as a result of X-ray screening, in left/right Buddha statues excepting main Buddha, wood and molding clay layer were observed at the same time. Therefore, this study intended to observe its internal structure, grafting method and to clarify making technique of Buddha statue during Joseon era based on image information being obtained through X-ray screening of The Buddhas of the Three Words of Daeheungsa Temple. As its result, it was revealed that form of ${\acute{S}}{\bar{a}}kyamuni$ was completed by mainly grafting 5 pieces of timber and this statue shows a typical wood grafted Buddha statue during Joseon era. Form of Bhaiṣajyaguru and $Amit{\bar{a}}bha$ were completed based on molding technique by applying clay on sculpture similar to its appearance after sculpturing more than 10 pieces of timber through its grafting. In other words, internal timber is considered to play a role of its core and grafting method of timber is more close to a technique of molding Buddha statue than to that of wooden Buddha statue during Joseon era. However, clay was directly applied on timber thinly, not applying clay thickly on it after winding straw rope on wooden core and its characteristic is that its facial area was completely composed of wooden construction only. Therefore, it is hard to rule out a possibility that the original sculpturing intention of an artist might be a wooden Buddha statue but in view of the fact that a word, 'molding' was used in a record of relics buried in statue, it could be seen that this Buddha statue might have been recognized as a molding statue at the time when creation of this statue was completed. It is considered that number of case of making statue based on this technique would be more increased when more results of X-ray screening should be accumulated and if more data should be collected, it would provide a significant evidence for identifying chronological, regional aspects of making technique of Buddha statue.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.150-169
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• 2020

Surveys of Buddhist ruins at Namsan in Gyeongju began in earnest during the Japanese colonial era, undertaken by Japanese scholars. These surveys of Buddhist remains in Namsan made during the colonial period should be seen as previous research which cannot be ignored in any in-depth study of Buddhist ruins in Gyeongju. Full-scale surveys of Buddhist ruins at Namsan began in the 1920s. Previous surveys conducted around the time of the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 are generally viewed as only representing preliminary investigations and, thus, have not received much attention. However, these early surveys are significant in that they led to the Buddhist ruins on Namsan becoming widely known in the 1910s and served as the foundations for later studies. The removal of the Seated Medicine Buddha from Samneung Valley in Gyeongju in 1915 and its subsequent exhibition at the Joseon Local Products Expo, which marked the fifth anniversary of the Japanese administration of Korea, was especially important in garnering attention for Namsan's wealth of Buddhist artifacts, as the statue was placed in the main hall of the art museum and attracted a great deal of interest from visitors. It is typically thought that this Seated Medicine Buddha was exhibited in 1915 because it was the most beautiful and well-preserved statue from Namsan. However, the removal of this statue was closely related to the proposed move of the Seokguram statue to Seoul around the time of Korea's annexation. The plan to move Seokguram to Seoul was primarily devised by Terauchi Masatake, and the plan, based on Ilseontongjo-ron ('日鮮同祖論'), a historical theory that prehistoric Korean and Japanese people were of the same blood, and Joseon Jeongcheasoeng-ron ('朝鮮停滯性論'), a historical theory arguing that development had stagnated in Korea, was intended to be a visual demonstration of a new era for Korea. This new era was to proceed under the rule of the Japanese Empire through the dissolution of Gyeongbokgung, the symbol of the Joseon Dynasty, which would be replaced with past glories as symbolized by the statue of Buddha. However, as the plan floundered, the replacement for Seokguram in Seoul ended up being none other than the Seated Medicine Buddha of Samneung Valley. Surveys of the Seated Medicine Buddha began in 1911, administered by Sekino Tadashi, but he likely learned of the statue's location from Moroga Hideo or Kodaira Ryozo, Japanese residents of Gyeongju. It is also probable that these Japanese residents received a request from the Japanese Government General of Korea to find a Buddha statue that was worthy of being displayed at exhibitions. In this way, we can say that the transfer of the Seated Medicine Buddha to Seoul was the result of close cooperation between the Government General, Sekino Tadashi, and Japanese residents of Gyeongju. This also had the effect of removing the magical veil which had shrouded the Buddhist ruins of Namsan. In other words, while the early surveys of Buddhist ruins on Namsan are significant, it is difficult to argue that the surveys were undertaken for purely academic purposes, as they were deeply related to the imperial ambitions of Governor-General Terauchi which encompassed the plans to move Seokguram to Seoul and the successful hosting of the 1915 Expo. It should also be pointed out that the failure of the plan to move Seokguram to Seoul and the preservation of the Seated Stone Buddha of Mireuggok at Namsan was in no small part due to resistance from Korean residents in Gyeongju. Although it is not described in detail in the paper, research is needed which shows that the Korean residents of Gyeongju were not simple bystanders, but agents of history.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1976

When haploid plant would be appeared by the anther culture, the large quantity of young plant multiplied maternal inheritance and the same pure line rapidly in the short length of time, which will be effected to cut down much expences efforts and time for the production of seeds or seedlings. Therefore, the development of the technique for this would be much profited in the country industry. In the late of a few years studies were early attempted in this field, but up this time there were a few success of plants only and none of perennial plant. In this status of the country condition required earnestly for the development of the green industry, this researcher attempted to culture the anther of late uninucleate microspore or early binucleate microspore of the Prunus mume and other three psecies, economic trees estimated specially economic, on the place of Modified Murashige and Skoog's medium supliment with Kinetine, 2.4-D, and N.A.A for inducing haploid plants. The obtained results were as follows: 1. 2,000 anthers were cultured and there were shown that 2N callus in Prunus mume had 82 as 4.1%, 2N callus in Prunus tomentosa 15 as 0.8%, 2 N callus in Prunus salisina 75 as 4% 2. N callus had shown 40 as 2% from Prunus armeniaca var. ansu only, and the other trees showed all 2N callus. 3. Callus had appeared in every tree but 2N callus appeared was all filaments and there showed from only connective tissue N callus appeared was all from anther locule inside. 4. Then Prunus armeniaca var. ansu only was not callus of somatic anther tissue origin, but as there was callus origined from microspore which was changed in to swollen microspores or polynucleate microspores, it was certained to need haploid plant.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.98
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• pp.54-77
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• 2020

Produced during the Goryeo period (718-1392), the statue of the monk Huirang Daesa at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon is almost life-size, with a height of 82.4 cm, a width of 66.6 cm at the knees, and a maximum width of 44 cm at the torso (front and back). Notably, it is the only known example of an East Asian Buddhist sculpture made from wood and dry lacquer that was formed by joining the front and back halves. However, a similar technique was used on a dry lacquer statue of the Medicine Buddha at Cheongnyangsa Temple in Bonghwa, which is estimated to date from the late Goryeo or early Joseon period. As such, this technique is thought to represent this particular time period. In an eighteenth-century travelogue about a trip to Mt. Gayasan, the author describes a sculpture that is believed to be the statue of Huirang Daesa at Haeinsa Temple, based on various unique features that closely correspond to the sculpture's current appearance. For example, the sculpture is said to have a hole in the chest and rough, knobby tendons and bones, two features that can still be seen today. Another sculpture of a Buddhist monk who was active in the western regions during the third and fourth century also has a hole in the chest, which is said to be a symbol of spiritual strength. The travelogue also states that the statue was lacquered black at the time, which means that it must have been painted with its present colors some time in the nineteenth century. Over time, the sculpture has been enshrined in various halls of Haeinsa Temple, including Haehaengdang, Jinsangjeon, and later Josajeon (Hall of the Patriarchs), and Bojangjeon. Records show that images of Buddhist monks, or "seungsang," were produced in Korea as early as the Three Kingdoms period (18 BCE-660 CE), but few of these works have survived. At present, only four such sculptures are extant, including the images of Huirang Daesa from the Goryeo period, and those of Monk Naong and Uisang Daesa from the Joseon period. Of these, the sculpture of Huirang Daesa has special significance for its early production date (i.e., CE. tenth century), outstanding production techniques, and superb artistic quality, realistically capturing both the external appearance and internal character of the subject. The tradition of producing, sanctifying, and worshipping statues of monks was prevalent not only in Korea, but also in China and Japan. However, each country developed its own preferred materials and techniques for producing these unique images. For example, while China has a large number of mummified Buddhist images (yuksinbul), Japan produced diverse images with various materials (e.g., dry lacquer, wood, clay) according to period. But despite the differences in materials and techniques, the three nations shared the same fundamental purpose of expressing and honoring the inherent spirituality of the monks.