The inscriptions(hwagi, 畵記) of Buddhist paintings contain a variety of important information about the paintings. This article focuses particularly on the appended subject(hwaje, 畵題) and names of Buddhist paintings. The names of Buddhist paintings that appear in the hwa-gi are largely divided into three types: First, there are thematic names that include the names of praying Buddhist statues or indicate the key scenes of paintings, such as “yeongsanhoe(靈山會),” “mitahoe(彌陀會),” “jijang(地藏),” “sinjung(神衆),” “chilseong(七星),” and “gamro(甘露).” Second, Buddha and bodhisattva paintings were named “hubultaeng(後佛幀)” stressing that the paintings were to be hung on the walls behind the statutes. Lastly, the names like “sangdantaeng(上壇幀),” “jungdantaeng(中壇幀),” and “hadantaeng(下壇幀)” emphasize the hierarchy of Buddhist rituals. Sometimes, names combining the second and third types were used. Characteristically, these names are strongly connotative and symbolic of their paintings.
Furthermore, this study examines two examples of Buddhist painting names in the hwa-gi that are not appropriate for the content of the paintings. First, in the case of a painting commonly referred to as “gamro-taeng(甘露幀),” as a Buddhist painting related to the Soul being Carried to Sukhāvatī (靈駕薦度), a more appropriate name would be “gamro-hoe(甘露會),” which contains the key word “gamro” and shows the scene of a ritual taking place in the overall picture. Next, in the case of “chilseongtaeng(七星幀),” since the main Buddha of the painting is clearly Tejaprabha Buddha(熾盛光如來), an appropriate academic name for the painting whould be “Tejaprabha Buddha.” This study is intended to offer an opportunity to reconsider the currently used names of Buddhist paintings and re-examine the criteria by which Buddhist paintings can be uniformly named.