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| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-01-15 10:00:02
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) – A special exhibition, titled “In Hope of the Fulfillment of Wishes: Rabbits and Talismans,” will be held at the Museum of Ancient Asian Woodblock Prints of Myeongjusa Temple in Wonju, Gangwon Province, from Jan. 21, featuring more than 70 rabbit-related engravings, talismans, and woodblock prints, according to the Museum Sunday.
In celebration of the Year of the Black Rabbit, the Museum will be exhibiting a collection of prints made in three different East Asian countries -- South Korea, China, and Japan. Rabbit has long been respected as a significant material for painting and engraving in East Asia, symbolizing wisdom and virtue.
Han Sun-hak, the Director of the Museum, explained, “Rabbit-related engravings long served as a ‘guardian angel’ that helps one to overcome various challenges,” adding, “Ancient East Asian people had those engravings either attached to the gates of their houses, or carried them along with other belongings.”
The colorful engraving “Moon and Rabbit,” one of the South Korean engravings that will be displayed at the exhibition, undeniably stands out due to its professional use of colors. The work shows two rabbits curling up alongside flowers and birds.
The rabbit that is drawn in the Munjado (translated) “Chi” is also noteworthy, as well as the work that engraved the twelve zodiacal gods with animal faces and human bodies, including a rabbit; an engraving of a rabbit holding tobacco for a tiger will also be exhibited.
Alongside these artworks from South Korea, a Japanese woodblock print from the genre “Ukiyo-e” that features Son Goku and rabbits, as well as a Chinese engraving displaying all gods of Buddhism and Taoism, is also worth paying attention to.
The Museum will also be displaying several talisman prints from the three countries: Beginning with the South Korean talisman prints with tigers and hawks, the amulets with which ancient people wished to overcome the three disasters that often come to humankind, for the success of their business, or for winning a grand prize will be exhibited.
Director Han said, “Amulets with wood prints used to be attached to gates or hung up in houses not only in South Korea but also in China and Japan, especially on New Year’s Day,” adding, “People also carried them around to prevent evil and wish for fulfillment.”
Temple stays, traditional engraving education, and several other experiential activities will also be available to visitors until Mar. 31.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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