일제강점기의 조선 불교미술 조사와 복원- 한국 불교미술 연구의 출발점 -

Abstract

Imperial Japan made their scholars investigate historic remains of the Joseon dynasty and repaired the ruined Buddhist temples and images of Buddha by using their own methods. These tasks can be defined as the achievement of the "technological modernization" of historic remains by using their latest techniques which represented the pride of the imperial Japan. The restoration and repair by the Japanese was performed according to their own principles, and there was no space for the participation of the Joseon people. Imperial Japan "made" the restoration of the historic remains, and the colonial Joseon "viewed" the restored historic remains as arts. The Joseon people could not raise any questions about the restoration by the Japanese. They had no objection against the paradigms constructed by the Japanese. These paradigms became the basis for the study of the Buddhist art of Joseon. After the investigation and repair of the historic remains, Japan published photographs. These photographs reveal to us about under what conditions our cultural properties were laid. Except for some temples or Seowon(書院) that were painted in Jingyeongsansuhwa(眞景山水畵) and some ancient maps, there were no visual materials, which tell us about the conditions of the historic remains before the Japanese investigations. Therefore, photographs of the Buddhist relics produced by the Japanese are the meeting point of the pre-modern and modern periods of Joseon. These photographs are the fundamental materials to understand how cultural properties of Joseon, particualy Buddhist art, had changed over time. The History of Joseon Art published by Sekino Tadashi(關野貞) includes most of the Buddhist temples and sculptures, which were investigated and restored during the Japanese occupation period. Accordingly, these photographs have been accepted as the primary canon since the liberation of Joseon from Japan. Therefore, in order to construct our scholarly foundation based on the objective knowledge, we have to examine how our cultural heritages were modified or distorted in their forms by the Japanese scholars and imperial government during the Japanese occupation period. Joseon Gojeok Dobo(『朝鮮古蹟圖譜』), Joseon Misul Daegwan(『朝鮮美術大觀』), and Gyeongju Namsanui Buljeok(『慶州南山の佛蹟』) contain many photographs of the historical remains before and after the restoration. These publications produced in the Japanese occupation era are the earliest catalogues, which were compiled according to the chronological order. They are also the essence of modern technology of using "photography."Most of the images of Buddha, which we now regard as the original forms, actually went through the process of repair by the Japanese. In spite of their inevitable modifications in their forms, we continue our studies based on the assumption that these relics feature the original forms. Japanese-published books on the historical remains of Joseon reveal where the interests of imperial Japan were located. These books were effective in educating the Joseon people of the paradigms constructed by the Japanese. The Joseon people began to open their eyes to "art," "cultural heritage," and "historic remains" as they were instructed by the Japanese. The Joseon people did not understand the Buddhist historical remains and art with their "current" meanings and contexts, but "made them as the heritage of the past, which had no connection with the present." To them, these historical remains meant merely the objects, which required conservation, restoration, and protection. To most of the Joseon people, their cultural heritage was turned into the object of a modern "taste". Korean researchers have kept using the cultural paradigms constructed by the Japanese.