Jangansa Temple (Yecheon)

About this place

Jangansa Temple, on Mount Biryong in Yonggung-myeon, Yecheon-gun, is a branch temple of Jikjisa, the main temple of the 8th diocese of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It is said to have been founded by Unmyeong, a disciple of the Great Master Uisang; the Yecheon-gun gazetteer states that it was a temple founded in the Goryeo period, but its precise history survives only in records from the mid-Joseon period onward. From 1627 (the 5th year of King Injo) to 1896, the bell pavilion, incense hall, main hall and monks' quarters, and mountain-spirit shrine were repeatedly rebuilt, giving it its present form. Among the surviving halls are the Geungnakjeon, the Eunghyangjeon, the monks' quarters, and a floored building, and on the hill behind stands the mountain-spirit shrine (Sallyeonggak). The Geungnakjeon, a gable-roofed building of 3 kan across the front and 2 kan on the side, was built in the late Joseon period; enshrined within are a wooden Amitabha triad and three Buddhist paintings, though all are recent works. The mountain-spirit painting enshrined in the Sallyeonggak, however, bears a definite date, having been created in 1812 (the 12th year of King Sunjo). Moreover, the floored building preserves not only a reconstruction record written in 1727 and various repair-record plaques, but also documents such as a lamp-and-candle association record, a Buddhist-offering association charter, and a record of Buddhist works.