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A newly discovered old photograph adds weight to opinion that the restoration in the 1960s of a historic hermitage inside the famous Bulguksa Temple was riddled with errors. At present, two of the eight Guardian Deities in the antechamber of the grotto stand in a single line with the other six. But the photo, taken right before an earlier restoration in 1913-15, shows that the two used to stand at a right angle to the others.
The photo, made public by the Sungkyunkwan University Museum on Monday, shows the statue of Guardian Vajra and some of the eight Guardian Deities on the right side of the main Buddha statue. But only three of the eight are seen standing in a straight line, in contrast to the present day, and another statue apparently stands at a right angle to them judging from the shadow it casts on another statue right in front of it.
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(From Top)
- The Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province
- A photo of the Seokguram Grotto right before restoration in the early 1910s
- A file photo of Seokguram Grotto after restoration in 1913
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The Japanese occupiers took the grotto, which was in danger of collapsing, to pieces and attempted to restore it to its original status in 1913. In the process, Japanese engineers set two deity statues on both side walls of the antechamber of the grotto at a right angle to the rest. But in 1961-64, when it restored the grotto again, the Cultural Properties Administration, precursor of the Cultural Heritage Administration, put them in line with the others.
At the time, officials involved in the restoration argued the Japanese damaged the Seokguram Grotto by attempting to restore it without knowing what it was like originally. The argument sparked a series of controversies about various aspects of the restoration. In 2001, the late bibliographer Lee Jong-hak pointed out a photo of the grotto carried in a book published in 1910 that also showed the statues standing at a right angle, but others said the picture was not clear.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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