• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.104
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• pp.10-39
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• 2023

Seongjusa Temple was founded in Boryeong in Chungcheongnam-do Province by Monk Muyeom (800-888), better known as Nanghye Hwasang. After returning from studying in China, Muyeom stayed in the Silla capital city of Gyeongju for a period. He later settled in a temple that was managed by the descendants of Kim In-mun (629-694). He then restored a burned-out temple and opened it in 847 as a Seon (Zen) temple named Seongjusa. It prospered and grew to become a large-scale temple with several halls within its domains. The influence of Seongjusa in the region can be seen in the Historical Record of Seongjusa Temple on Sungamsan Mountain, which relates that there were seventy-three rooms within the domains of the temple. What is most notable in the record is that the temple is referred to as "栴檀林九間," which means either "a structure with nine rooms built with Chinese juniper wood" or "a place that houses Chinese juniper wood and has nine rooms." Regardless of the interpretation, Seongjusa Temple had a large amount of juniper wood. Around this time, the term "juniper" referred to the olibanum tree (Boswellia sacra) native to the islands of Java and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. It is presumed that at some point after the death of Jang Bogo, the maritime forces that controlled the southwestern coast of Korea may have acquired a large amount of Southeast Asian olibanum wood and offered it to Seongjusa Temple. During the reign of King Munseong, Kim Yang (808-857) patronized Seongjusa Temple and its head monk Muyeom, who enjoyed a lofty reputation in the region. He sought to strengthen his own position as a member of the royal lineage of King Muyeol and create a bridge between the royal family and Seongjusan Buddhist sect. The court of King Wonseong designated Seongjusa Temple as a regional base for the support of royal authority in an area where anti-royal sentiment remained strong. Monk Muyeom is believed to have created an iron Buddha to protect the temple, enlighten the people, and promote regional stability. Given that the Seongjusa community had expanded to include more than 2,000 followers, the iron Buddha at Seongjusa Temple would have been perceived as an image that rallied the local residents. It is assumed that there were two iron Buddhas at Seongjusa Temple. The surviving parts of these Buddhas and the size of their pedestals suggest that they were respectively enshrined in the Geumdang Main Hall and the Samcheonbuljeon Hall of Three Thousand Buddhas. It is presumed that the first iron Buddha in Geumdang was a large statue over two meters in height and the second one was medium-sized with the height over one meter. The Historical Record of Seongjusa Temple on Sungamsan Mountain contains the phrase "改創選法堂五層重閣" which indicates that a multistoried Geumdang was newly built to enshrine a large Buddha sculpture like the first iron Buddha when Seongjusa Temple was founded. Also, according to the Stele of Seongjusa Temple and the surviving finger fragments, the first Buddha was making the fear-not and wish-granting (abhayavarada) mudras. The main Buddha of Seongjusa Temple is possibly Nosana Buddha, just like the main Buddhas at the contemporaneous temples Silsangsa, Borimsa, and Samhwasa. Given that Monk Muyeom studied Hwaeom teachings in his early years and received royal patronage upon his return, it is believed that the retro tendencies of the Hwaeom school, centered on the royal family of the Silla Dynasty, were reflected in Seongjusa temple.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.81-93
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• 2014

As the Seated Iron Buddha Statues, Vairocana Buddha of Dopiansa Temple in Cheolwon, Nosana Buddha of Samhwasa Temple in Donghae and Sakyamuni of Mangisa Temple in Pyeongtaek were made during Unified Silla to Koryo Dynasty. These are damaged degradation which are crack, break-out, peel off and various pollutant. As a result of deterioration evaluation using radiography, crack, gap, break-out, pore space and restoration material are confirmed inside in the Buddha Statues. Based on iron strength, the Buddha Statues will be maintain current state as long as a high external impact is not applied. Also, iron core and nails used for fixing of internal and external framework were observed in the Buddha Statues. According to prominent line of surface, embossed inscription, hands cast separately and combined, the Buddha Statues were made by using division casting.

• 한국문화재보존과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.40-41
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• 2003

• 한국문화재보존과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.167-168
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• 2006

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.209-223
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• 2019

The Iron Seated Buddha sculpture in the National Museum of Korea had long sat unregistered in storage at the museum. However, a new accession number "bon9976" has recently been assigned to it. This sculpture was excavated from the neighborhood of Heungnyongsa Temple in Baekun-ri, Yidong-myeon, Pocheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do Province together with another Iron Seated Buddha sculpture(bon9975) called "Iron Buddha from Pocheon." A comparison and examination of Gelatin Dry Plate and official documents from the Joseon Government-General Museum during the Japanese occupation period have revealed that these two Iron Buddha sculptures were transferred to the Museum of the Government-General of Korea on December 17, 1925. The Iron Seated Buddha sculpture(bon9976) has a height of 105 centimeters, width at the shoulders of 57 centimeters, and width at the knee of 77 centimeters. The Buddha is wearing a robe with rippling drapery folds and the right shoulder exposed. He is seated in the position called gilsangjwa(the seat of good fortune) in which the left foot is placed over the right thigh. The features of the Buddha's oval face are prominently sculpted. The voluminous cheeks, eye sockets in a large oval shape, slanted eyes, short nose, and plump lips can also be found in other ninth-century Iron Seated Buddha sculptures at Silsangsa Temple in Namwon, Jeollanam-do Province, Hancheonsa Temple in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and Samhwasa Temple in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do Province. Moreover, its crossed legs, robe exposing the right shoulder, and rippling drapery folds suggest that this sculpture might have been modeled after the main Buddha sculpture of the Seokguram Grotto from the eighth century. The identity of this Iron Seated Buddha can be determined using the Gelatin Dry Plate(M442-2, M442-7). In them, the Buddha has its right palm facing upwards and holds a medicine jar on its left palm. Until now, the Iron Seated Bhaiṣajyagura(Medicine) Buddha(bon1970) excavated from Wonju has been considered the sole example of an iron Medicine Buddha sculpture. However, this newly registered Iron Seated Buddha turns out to be a Medicine Buddha holding a medicine jar. Furthermore, it serves as valuable material since traces of gilding and lacquering clearly remain on its surface. This Iron Seated Buddha sculpture (bon9976) is presumed to have been produced around the ninth century under the influence of Esoteric Buddhism by the Monk Doseon(827~898), a disciple of the Monk Hyecheol, to protect the temple and help the country overcome geographical shortcomings. According to the records stored at Naewonsa Temple(later Heungnyongsa Temple), Doseon selected three significant sites, including Baegunsan Mountain, built "protector" temples, created the Bhaisajyagura Buddha triad, and enshrined them at the temples. Moreover, the inscription on the stele on the restoration of Seonamsa Temple states that Doseon constructed temples and produced iron Buddha sculptures to help the country surmount certain geographical shortcomings. Heungnyongsa Temple is located in Dopyeong-ri, Yidong-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do Province. This region appears to have been related to rituals directed to the Medicine Buddha since Yaksa Temple(literally, "the temple of medicine") was built here during the Goryeo Dynasty, and the Yaksa Temple site with its three-story stone pagoda and Yaksadong Valley still exist in Dopyeong-ri.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.377-384
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• 2016

There are physical and chemical method for removement of a lacquered layer existing on the surface when gilding an iron Buddha, these caused environmental pollution by surface degradation and is very noxious for conservation scientist's health. Thus, on this study, we conducted a lacquered layer removement experiments using Nd:YAG Laser which is contactless and eco-friendly. Specimens were made by polishing $5{\times}5$ size of iron(99.9%) specimens surfaces evenly and by differing of number of coating of unrefined lacquer, so there were thickness differences of $10{\mu}m$, $20{\mu}m$, and $30{\mu}m$. The laser machine used in this study was Nd:YAG Laser, and we used two wavelength modes; 1064 nm(160~180 mJ) for infrared light region and 532 nm(50~350 mJ) for ultraviolet light region. The experiment done by investigating the transition of specimens' surfaces with laser wavelength, energy, and numbers of investigation. The remain amount of lacquered layer surfaces before/after laser irradiation was investigated by stereoscopic microscope, observation by SEM, Non-contact Surface Roughness Measurement Device, and FT-IR etc. As a result of each analysis, we could verify the thickness of $10{\mu}m$, $20{\mu}m$ of lacquered layer removed without surface degradation when using 1064 nm wavelength with $1.0J/cm^2$ density. We could find out that Nd:YAG Laser is effective for removing remained lacquered layers when gilding an iron Buddha. In the future, when not only the metal has made various studies also wood lacquered furniture or the like, it seems to be utilized to remove the lacquer without surface damage.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.234-242
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• 2022

The study aimed to investigate the split casting method based on the recreation of the iron-seated Buddha (ISB) statue (number 1971) in the Chuncheon Museum. The statue was designed using three-dimensional scan data and reduced to half-size. Using the existing research results, the ISB statue was created by mold production and split casting. The mold was prepared by mixing sand and clay at a ratio of 3:4 and 1:3 on the outside and inside, respectively, and then casting was done. Various casting defects were observed in the ISB casting and similar shapes were seen. The casting defects included veining or finning, misrun, open or external shrinkage, surface or subsurface blowholes, surface pinholes, and shift. The microstructures were identified as branch-shaped dendrite and pearlite organizations, and black graphite was observed between the cementite organizations. The study findings may be relevant in exploring traditional casting and manufacturing techniques of ISB and may aid in the production of the original form of ISB.