A Study on the Current Status of Musa basjoo Planting in Folk Village and Traditonal Temple

Abstract

The study on Musa basjoo planting in traditional gardens in of folk villages and traditional temples was conducted to identify the phenomenon of Musa basjoo planting which frequently appears in paintings and literatures of the late Joseon dynasty and how the cultural custom is being handed down. The result of the study is as follows. 11) As a result of studying state-designated folk villages 6 sites, the custom is being handed down in a few limited gardens including Asan Oeam Village and Seongju Hangae Village. In case of Oeam Village, there are three gardens where Musa basjoo was planted including Seolimbang, Vice Minister's Residence, and Geonjae House where Musa basjoo withered now. In case of Hangae Village, it was found in Bukbi House, Hahoe Residence and Gyoridaek Jinsa's Residence and most of them were planted in front of guesthouses and main building with the assemble-planting method. Musa basjoo planting was confirmed in 39 traditional temples and it was found that Yangsan Tongdosa Temple and attached hermitage Geukrakam are currently prevalent in Musa basjoo planting. Musa basjoo was planted on either side of the stairs of Buddhist sanctums for Buddha and Avalokitesvara Guan Yin of main temples and gwaneum temples with the assemble-planting method and it has a tendency of pair planting.Considering that Musa basjoo is a southern plant, most of Musa basjoo planting was distributed around Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, which is closely related to the isotherm distribution of the Korean Peninsula. Especially, it was found that planting flora was centered on 12℃ of Warmth Index 100° and annual average temperature.

Botany and national identities: The Tokyo Cherry

“…At the same time, more general or popular-science plant books unequivocally explained the Tokyo Cherry as being a wild plant of Korea’s native flora (Mori 1922, 212; Makino et al 1931, 500; Uyeki 1933, 84). Cherries were planted by the thousands (Kim 2011, 127–133) and blossom festivities were promoted more effectively. The Tokyo Cherries were an innovative propaganda tool in the new botanical garden of Seoul, which had been set up in one of the former royal palaces.…”

“…A few days later, the local newspaper could report in jubilant phrasing that a group of scientists had discovered the King Cherry Blossom Tree ( Wangbeotkkot-namu ) on Halla Mountain, the native place of Japan’s National Flower (Park 1962). Consequently, the King Cherry and not an internationally acclaimed scientific Latin plant entered the public discourse nationwide a few days later (Kim 2011, 132). Park’s academic paper followed, and natural monuments to protect sites of the wild King Cherry were set up (Park 1965, 14–15).…”

“…17 Koidzumi, Takenaka, and Park found their King Cherries at roughly the same altitude at the upper edge of pasture land in remnant patches of forest (Takenaka 1936; Park 1965, 14). However, researchers who have searched Mount Halla in the 1980s and beyond have so far not been able to rediscover either the trees found by Taquet or those found by Koidzumi and Takenaka (Kim 2011, 132).…”