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Japanese pagoda
Pagodas in Japan are called tō (塔, lit. pagoda), sometimes buttō (仏塔, lit. Buddhist pagoda) or tōba (塔婆, lit. pagoda), and derive historically from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian stupa. Like the stupa, pagodas were originally used as reliquaries, but in many cases ended up losing this function. Pagodas are quintessentially Buddhist and an important component of Japanese Buddhist temple compounds but, because until the Kami and Buddhas Separation Act of 1868, a Shinto shrine was normally also a Buddhist temple and vice versa, they are not rare at shrines either. The famous Itsukushima Shrine, for example, has one. After the Meiji Restoration the word tō, once used exclusively in a religious context, came to mean also "tower" in the western sense, as for example in Eiffel Tower (エッフェル塔, Efferu-tō).
Of the Japanese pagoda's many forms, some are built in wood and are collectively known as mokutō (木塔, lit. wood pagoda), but most are carved out of stone (sekitō (石塔, lit. stone pagoda). Wood pagodas are large buildings with either two stories (like the Tahō pagoda (多宝塔, tahōtō), see photo below) or an odd number of stories. Extant wood pagodas with more than two stories have almost always either three stories (and are therefore called sanjū-no-tō (三重塔, lit. three-storeyed pagoda)) or five (and are called gojū-no-tō (五重塔, lit. five-storeyed pagoda). Stone pagodas are nearly always small, usually well below 3 metres, and as a rule offer no usable space. If they have more than one storey, pagodas are called tasōtō (多層塔, lit. multi-storied pagoda) or tajūtō (多重塔, lit. multi-storied pagoda).
A pagoda's size is measured in ken, where a ken is the interval between two pillars of a traditional-style building. A tahōtō for example can be either 5x5 ken or 3x3 ken. The word is usually translated in English as "bay" and is better understood as an indication of proportions than as a unit of measurement.
The stupa was originally a simple mound containing the Buddha's ashes which in time became more elaborate, while its finial grew proportionally larger. After reaching China, the stupa met the Chinese watchtower and evolved into the pagoda, a tower with an odd number of stories. Its use then spread to Korea and, from there, to Japan. Following its arrival in Japan together with Buddhism in the 6th century, the pagoda became one of the focal points of the early Japanese garan. In Japan it evolved in shape, size and function, finally losing its original role as a reliquary. It also became extremely common, while on the Asian continent it is rare.
With the birth of new sects in later centuries, the pagoda lost importance and was consequently relegated to the margins of the garan. Temples of the Jōdo sects rarely have a pagoda. During the Kamakura period the Zen sect arrived in Japan and their temples do not normally include a pagoda.
Pagodas originally were reliquaries and did not contain sacred images, but in Japan many, for example Hōryū-ji's five-storied pagoda, enshrine statues of various deities. To allow the opening of a room at the ground floor and therefore create some usable space, the pagoda's central shaft, which originally reached the ground, was shortened to the upper stories, where it rested on supporting beams. In that room are enshrined statues of the temple's main objects of worship. Inside Shingon pagodas there can be paintings of deities called Shingon Hasso (真言八祖); on the ceiling and on the central shaft there can be decorations and paintings.
The edge of a pagoda's eaves forms a straight line, with each following edge being shorter than the other. The more difference in length (a parameter called teigen (逓減, gradual diminution) in Japanese) between stories, the more solid and secure the pagoda seems to be. Both teigen and the finial are greater in older pagodas, giving them a sense of solidity. Vice versa, recent pagodas tend to be steeper and have shorter finials, creating svelter silhouettes.
From the structural point of view, old pagodas had a stone base (心礎, shinso) over which stood the main pillar (心柱, shinbashira). Around it would be erected the first storey's supporting pillars, then the beams supporting the eaves and so on. The other stories would be built over the completed one, and on top of the main pillar would at last be inserted the finial. In later eras, all of the supporting structures would be erected at once, and later to them were fixed parts of more cosmetic function.
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Japanese pagoda
Pagodas in Japan are called tō (塔, lit. pagoda), sometimes buttō (仏塔, lit. Buddhist pagoda) or tōba (塔婆, lit. pagoda), and derive historically from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian stupa. Like the stupa, pagodas were originally used as reliquaries, but in many cases ended up losing this function. Pagodas are quintessentially Buddhist and an important component of Japanese Buddhist temple compounds but, because until the Kami and Buddhas Separation Act of 1868, a Shinto shrine was normally also a Buddhist temple and vice versa, they are not rare at shrines either. The famous Itsukushima Shrine, for example, has one. After the Meiji Restoration the word tō, once used exclusively in a religious context, came to mean also "tower" in the western sense, as for example in Eiffel Tower (エッフェル塔, Efferu-tō).
Of the Japanese pagoda's many forms, some are built in wood and are collectively known as mokutō (木塔, lit. wood pagoda), but most are carved out of stone (sekitō (石塔, lit. stone pagoda). Wood pagodas are large buildings with either two stories (like the Tahō pagoda (多宝塔, tahōtō), see photo below) or an odd number of stories. Extant wood pagodas with more than two stories have almost always either three stories (and are therefore called sanjū-no-tō (三重塔, lit. three-storeyed pagoda)) or five (and are called gojū-no-tō (五重塔, lit. five-storeyed pagoda). Stone pagodas are nearly always small, usually well below 3 metres, and as a rule offer no usable space. If they have more than one storey, pagodas are called tasōtō (多層塔, lit. multi-storied pagoda) or tajūtō (多重塔, lit. multi-storied pagoda).
A pagoda's size is measured in ken, where a ken is the interval between two pillars of a traditional-style building. A tahōtō for example can be either 5x5 ken or 3x3 ken. The word is usually translated in English as "bay" and is better understood as an indication of proportions than as a unit of measurement.
The stupa was originally a simple mound containing the Buddha's ashes which in time became more elaborate, while its finial grew proportionally larger. After reaching China, the stupa met the Chinese watchtower and evolved into the pagoda, a tower with an odd number of stories. Its use then spread to Korea and, from there, to Japan. Following its arrival in Japan together with Buddhism in the 6th century, the pagoda became one of the focal points of the early Japanese garan. In Japan it evolved in shape, size and function, finally losing its original role as a reliquary. It also became extremely common, while on the Asian continent it is rare.
With the birth of new sects in later centuries, the pagoda lost importance and was consequently relegated to the margins of the garan. Temples of the Jōdo sects rarely have a pagoda. During the Kamakura period the Zen sect arrived in Japan and their temples do not normally include a pagoda.
Pagodas originally were reliquaries and did not contain sacred images, but in Japan many, for example Hōryū-ji's five-storied pagoda, enshrine statues of various deities. To allow the opening of a room at the ground floor and therefore create some usable space, the pagoda's central shaft, which originally reached the ground, was shortened to the upper stories, where it rested on supporting beams. In that room are enshrined statues of the temple's main objects of worship. Inside Shingon pagodas there can be paintings of deities called Shingon Hasso (真言八祖); on the ceiling and on the central shaft there can be decorations and paintings.
The edge of a pagoda's eaves forms a straight line, with each following edge being shorter than the other. The more difference in length (a parameter called teigen (逓減, gradual diminution) in Japanese) between stories, the more solid and secure the pagoda seems to be. Both teigen and the finial are greater in older pagodas, giving them a sense of solidity. Vice versa, recent pagodas tend to be steeper and have shorter finials, creating svelter silhouettes.
From the structural point of view, old pagodas had a stone base (心礎, shinso) over which stood the main pillar (心柱, shinbashira). Around it would be erected the first storey's supporting pillars, then the beams supporting the eaves and so on. The other stories would be built over the completed one, and on top of the main pillar would at last be inserted the finial. In later eras, all of the supporting structures would be erected at once, and later to them were fixed parts of more cosmetic function.