조선시대 水陸齋의 성행과 새로운 불화의 수요: 四直使者圖와 五方五帝位圖

Abstract

There are small-scale Buddhist paintings of less than 1 meter in height classified as “doryang jangeombeon (道場莊嚴幡)”, meaning banner that adorn the bodhimanda. Compared to those hanging in the halls and being the object of worship, scholars have not paid less attention to dojang jangeombeon, and therefore in-depth studies pertaining to them have not been conducted in earnest. This study demonstrates that such small-scale Buddhist paintings are saorotaeng (使五路幀), a set of sajiksajado (四直使者圖, painting of the four underground messengers) and obangojewido (五方五帝位圖, painting of the five emperors of the five cardinal directions), that appeared in old documents, and examines their origins and roles in rituals by exploring the four messengers of the netherworld and the Five Emperors from legendary times in China represented in these small-scale paintings. Saorotaeng used to be hung and displayed facing one another on sajadan (an altar for the four underground messengers) and orodan (an altar for the five emperors) installed for Suryukjae (Buddhist ritual offering food to wandering ghosts); the two paintings were perceived as a single combination set. From the beginning, these paintings had each assumed a specific role within the comprehensive, overall scenario comprising Buddhist rituals. However, it is simply difficult to infer their original form due to the limitation that they disappear once the particular time and space of the Buddhist rituals and ceremonies are over. It had been generally understood that paintings depicting the underground messengers were enshrined in the Myeongbujeon Hall, but it has been confirmed that these paintings were also displayed on sajadan for rite. Obangojewido, a Buddhist painting depicting the five emperors ruling the five cardinal points of North, South, East, West, and the center, features five figures in an upright seated posture dressed in emperor attire holding a hol (a baton or scepter held in hands by officials) in their hands and feet placed on the footstool. The names of emperors – the Green Emperor of the East, Red Emperor of the South, White Emperor of the West, Black Emperor of the North, and Yellow Emperor of the center – written on the 1676 Obangojewido of Gaesimsa Temple correspond to the sacred image of Buddha honored on the orodan of the Suryukjae recorded in texts including Cheonji-myeongyang-suryukjaeeuibeomeum- sanbojib (The Book of Buddhist Invocations) and Suryuk-muchapyeongdeung- jaeui-chwaryo (Excerpts from the Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land with Indifferent Equality). Each of the five emperors can be distinguished by their names and colors of their attire in accordance with the five cardinal points. During the Joseon Dynasty, a set of sajadan and orodan, namely saorodan, were established and saorotaeng was created as essential ritual Buddhist paintings for the purpose of performing ceremonies for the deceased and their lonely spirits. In regard to the process of formation of the iconography for obangojewido featuring a standardized form as paintings for worship, not only Buddhism but also ancient Confucianism and Taoism existed together in mixed form. In particular, obangojewido featured iconographical representations similar to that of paintings of the Ten Kings of Hell (siwangdo) as the image of Tianzun of Taoism was already inherent in the faith in the Netherworld. Sajiksajado and obangojewido demonstrate the demand for Buddhist paintings depicting new themes heralded by the culture of Buddhist rituals. The modern perception of viewing the five emperors of the five cardinal directions as mere guardian gods, as evidenced in Jakbeop gwigam (Models for Performing Buddhist Rituals) published in 1826, can be attributed to the change in rituals since the nineteenth century. As the function of saorotaeng and religious rites diminished in the preceding period, the four underground messengers and five emperors of the five cardinal directions were embraced in the sinjungdan (an altar for Buddhist deities) protection deities and lost their distinct role.