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National Intangible Cultural Heritage

Bulbokjang Jakbeop (Ritual Process of Placing Objects Inside Buddhist Statues)

불복장작법 ( 佛腹藏作法 )

Heritage Search Detail
Classification National Intangible Cultural Heritage
Name of Cultural Properties Bulbokjang Jakbeop (Ritual Process of Placing Objects Inside Buddhist Statues)
Quantity
Designated Date 2019.04.30
Age
Address Seoul The Wide area of Seoul

This refers to the ritual enshrining of objects within a Buddhist statue or painting. Through this process, an inert image is animated and reborn as an object of worship.

This ritual has been practiced in Korea for more than 700 years, since at least the Goryeo Dynasty. Instructions on the performance of the ritual were compiled into a book during the Joseon Dynasty with the title Josanggyeong. The practice continued through the Japanese colonial era and has been transmitted to the present. Compared to China and Japan, Korea is unique in establishing the process of interring objects in Buddhist images as a ritual. There are diverse ritualistic factors encompassed within this ritual, each of which is equipped with its own religious meaning. All these attributes were considered positively during the designation process of this element.

* Jakbeop (作法): This term is commonly understood as referring to Buddhist dances like those performed in such ceremonies as Surykjae ("Water and Land Ceremony") and Yeongsanjae ("Celebration of Buddha's Sermon on Vulture Peak Mountain"). Here, however, the term denotes that the interment of objects in a Buddhist image is practiced as a ritual.