• Joseon Dynasty, 1463
• Woodblock print on paper
• The Library of Dongguk University

King Sejo, deeply devoted to Buddhism, instituted an official agency called “Gangyeongdogam” to compile and publish Buddhist texts. This copy shows a Korean-language version of the Lotus Sutra, the agency’s first project of Chinese-to-Korean translation. The frontispiece of the book was also a new drawing based on the Chinese illustration introduced from Ming China in the early fifteenth century. The picture shows the full-frontal Buddha with the earth-touching gesture and an attendee kneeling in front of him with the back turned towards the viewer. This depiction of an attendee kneeling in front of Buddha, shown from behind, began to appear from the fifteenth century until late Joseon.