강릉단오제 신격변동

Abstract

This article is based on a hypothesis that Beomilguksa who used to be a legendary character of folk tale was defied in the Japanese colonial period by accident. Therefore, Beomilguksa become a chief deity in Gangneung Dano-je. The paper focuses on the interpretation of ‘Guksa’ which appears in 『Imyeongji』. Guksa seems to be a monk or a deity. Thus, the identity and the interpretation of Guksa also can alters depending on the opinion. Traditionally, Guksa had been regarded as the deity. However, many investigation reports written in Colonial Choson began to see Guksa as a monk. Working with some interpreters, Japanese researchers examined Korean folk culture by collecting the materials submitted by Korean public servants. It means that the results unavoidably contained errors. Since then, Korean folklorists intensified the confusions by accepting the Japanese reports as it is. They did not consider reinterpreting the reports. Until the present time, some studies say that Guksa is Guksaseonghwang, and others say Guksa is Beomilguksa. However, according to a careful study, Guksa should be a deity. The chief deity of Daegwallyeong was Guksa. It is some mistakes of the Japanese researchers that intermingled Guksa with Beomilguksa. Guksa often means Kim Yusin, the mountain spirit. Unfortunately, it is not an obvious fact. It is still unknown. The chief deity of Gangneung Dano-je has not been clearly defined yet. Beomilguksa Seonyang Sauphoi bluntly complains that the dispute is a deep disrespect for the great Buddhist monk. Although this research seems to stick to a prototype of the deity, it is an important issue that needs to be addressed.