Skip Navigation

Heritage Search

Treasure

Iron Seated Rocana Buddha of Samhwasa Temple, Donghae

동해 삼화사 철조노사나불좌상 ( 東海 三和寺 鐵造盧舍那佛坐像 )

Heritage Search Detail
Classification Treasure
Name of Cultural Properties Iron Seated Rocana Buddha of Samhwasa Temple, Donghae
Quantity 1
Designated Date 1998.12.18
Age Between Late Unified Silla and Early Goryeo (about 9th-10th Century)
Address Samhwasa Temple 584, Mureung-ro, Donghae, Gangwon-do

The Buddha image displays turban shell-shaped hair on the head. The slightly plump face points to the style of the Unified Silla Period (676 - 935). Overall, the image gives an impression of tidiness: the slit eyes, the straight nose, and the thick lips. The wrinkles of the robe appear to be lifeless. The repaired Buddha image has the right hand held up with the palm facing outward and the left hand put on the lap facing upward. In the course of carrying out the restoration work, the crew found a sheet of paper containing 161 Chinese characters in 10 lines from the back of the Buddha image. The description Rocana Buddha appears twice. The characters say that the Buddha image was made based on Avatamsaksa Sutra for the spirit of the deceased parents of the donor, with Monk Gyeoreon (who carried out activities in the 880s) playing a leading role; thus showing that it was made sometime between the end of the Unified Silla Period (676 - 935) and the early Goryeo Period (918-1392). The use of Idu (archaic writing system representing the Korean language using Chinese characters) in said sheet of paper makes it an important material for researchers studying the development of the Korean writing system.