• Seongun (active, 16th century)
• Joseon Dynasty, 1550
• Color on hemp
• Shin Chokoku-ji Temple

The Samjang Bodhisattvas, or the Three Bodhisattvas, including Cheonjang (Heaven), Jiji (Earth), and Kshitigarbha, gather in this painting. This painting was used for a performance of the Water and Land Ceremony, intended to alleviate the sufferings of hungry ghosts. Chinese Buddhist ritual paintings for the Water and Land Ceremony also depicted the Three Bodhisattvas, and in early Joseon, the Three Bodhisattvas became an independent pictorial subject. It lasted until late Joseon, constituting a unique genre of Joseon painting. This one on display is the oldest extant specimen among the early Joseon paintings of the Three Bodhisattvas.