Banchado were painted only for processions by the king or royal household
that took place as part of royal rituals. Processions represent the moment
when royal rituals are directly exposed to the ruled, as the rulers emerge from
a closed space.
State ceremonies of the Joseon dynasty constituted a highly-developed polit-ical
mechanism designed to have the population naturally accommodate the
legitimacy of state rule. Changes in banchado illustrations reflect the reality of
the late Joseon dynasty that called for changes in achieving the eventual goal
of justifying the royal authority.
In state ceremonies held in the eighteenth century, the monarch intended
not to remain a secluded head priest but to become a magnificent mastermind
reorganizing state ceremonies and meeting his people in person. The royal
processions aimed at reinforcing royal authority during this period was fully
reflected in banchado. In the eighteenth century, the royal household was
closed up considerably through attempts to strengthen monarchic authority,
the phenomenon of which was sustained in the nineteenth century.