A is a form of Japanese pagoda found primarily at Esoteric Shingon and Tendai school Buddhist temples. It is unique among pagodas because it has an even number of stories (two). (The second story has a balustrade and seems habitable, but is nonetheless inaccessible and offers no usable space.) Its name alludes to Tahō Nyorai, who appears seated in a many-jewelled pagoda in the eleventh chapter of the Lotus Sutra. With square lower and cylindrical upper parts, a mokoshi 'skirt roof', a pyramidal roof, and a finial, the tahōtō or the larger daitō was one of the seven halls of a Shingon temple. After the Heian period, the construction of pagodas in general declined, and new tahōtō became rare. Six examples, of which that at Ishiyama-dera (1194) is the earliest, have been designated National Treasures. There are no examples in China, whether architectural or pictorial, of anything that resembles the tahōtō, although there is a Song dynasty textual reference to a tahōtō with an encircling chamber.
Hōtō The or treasure pagoda is the ancestor of the tahōtō and dates to the introduction to Japan of Shingon and Tendai Buddhism in the ninth century. No wooden hōtō has survived, although modern copies do exist. They are usually made from stone, bronze, or iron, and specimens are always miniatures comprising a foundation stone, barrel-shaped body, pyramid roof, and a finial.
Daitō
While the tahōtō is 3x3 ken (bays), a larger 5x5 ken version exists, known as or 'large pagoda'. This is the only type of tahōtō to retain the original structure with a row of pillars or a wall separating the corridor (hisashi) from the core of the structure, abolished in smaller pagodas. Daitō used to be common but, of all those ever built, only a few are still extant. One is at Wakayama prefecture's Negoro-ji, another at Kongōbu-ji, again in Wakayama, another at Kirihata-dera, Tokushima prefecture, another at Narita-san in Chiba. (See the respective list entries.) Kūkai himself, founder of the Shingon school, built the celebrated daitō for Kongōbu-ji on Kōyasan; almost fifty metres high, chronicles relate that 'the mightiness of its single storey outdoes that of multi-storeyed pagodas'. The specimen found at Negoro-ji (see photo above) is 30.85 meters tall and a National Treasure.
Structure
Single-storey Japanese pagodas have an odd number of stories. While the tahōto may appear to be twin-storied, complete with balustrade, the upper part is inaccessible with no usable space. The lower roof, known as a mokoshi, provides shelter and the appearance of an additional storey.
Floor plan Raised over the , the ground floor has a square plan, 3x3 ken across, with a circular core. Inside, a room is marked out by the , a reference to the Four Heavenly Kings. The main objects of worship are often enshrined within.
Upper part Above is a second 'tortoise mound', in a residual reference to the stupa. Since exposed plaster weathers rapidly, a natural solution was to provide it with a roof, the mokoshi. Above again is a short, cylindrical section and a pyramidal roof, supported on four-stepped brackets.
Finial
Like all Japanese pagodas, the tahōtō is topped by a vertical shaft known as the . This comprises the base or 'dew basin'; an inverted bowl with attached lotus petals; nine rings; 'water flame'; and jewel. The finial's division in sections has a symbolic meaning and its structure as a whole itself represents a pagoda.
Miniature versions A number of smaller versions of the tahōtō are known, of stone, bronze, iron, or wood, and similar to the hōtō.
Meaning A number of mandala show the Iron Stupa in southern India, where the patriarch Nāgārjuna received the Esoteric scriptures, as a single-storey pagoda with a cylindrical body, a pyramidal roof, and a spire. The forms used in the tahōtō, namely the square, circle, triangle, semi-circle, and circle, may represent the Five Elements or the Five Virtues. The egg-shaped stupa mound or aṇḍa may represent Mount Sumeru, with the finial as the axis of the world; or, by a folk interpretation, the square base may represents a folded robe, the dome an overturned begging bowl, and the spire a walking staff. The tahōtō served not as a reliquary tower but often as an icon hall.
Examples Image Property Date Municipality Prefecture Comments Designation 1556 Ryūgasaki Ibaraki Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1684 Sakuragawa Ibaraki Prefecture 3 ken; originated in a three-storey pagoda of 1254, later ruined and rebuilt Prefectural 1692 Ashikaga Tochigi Prefecture 3 ken 1534 Kamikawa Saitama Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1639 Kawagoe Saitama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1761 Tateyama Chiba Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof Prefectural 1548 Minamibōsō Chiba Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1984 Narita Chiba Prefecture 5 ken 1938 Bunkyō Tōkyō 3 ken, tiled roof; modelled on that of Ishiyama-dera 1828 Ōta Tōkyō ICP Kamakura Kanagawa Prefecture 5 ken; destroyed 1275-1332 Seki Gifu Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof ICP 1536 Nagoya Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof ICP 1393-1466 Inazawa Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof ICP 1467-1572 Inazawa Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof ICP 1962 Inuyama Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1535 Okazaki Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof ICP 1509 Chiryū Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1528 Toyohashi Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1393-1466 Kasugai Aichi Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof; dismantled for repairs in 1953, roof repairs in 1977 ICP 1194 Ōtsu Shiga Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof; four painted pillars of the Kamakura period (ICP); inside are a Heian period and a Kamakura period wooden seated statue of Dainichi Nyorai, both (ICP) National Treasure 1298 Wazuka Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1620 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof ICP 1621 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof ICP 1438 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1808 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1942 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof 1935 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; inside are five Heian period wooden seated statues of Kokuzō Bosatsu (National Treasures) 1958 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1928 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken 1967 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1960 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken; the previous tahōtō was destroyed in the late Edo period 1961 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof 1702 Kyōto Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1804 Kameoka Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1275-1332 Kyōtamba Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof; dismantled for repairs in 1918, roof repairs in 1955 ICP 1751 Maizuru Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1500 Miyazu Kyōto Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1597 Ōsaka Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1467-1572 Kawachinagano Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof; inside is a Heian period seated wooden statue of Dainichi Nyorai (ICP) ICP 1086-1184 Kawachinagano Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1271 Izumisano Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof National Treasure 1515 Kishiwada Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1987 Minō Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof 1368 Sakai Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; dismantled for repairs in 1921, roof repairs in 1969 ICP 1652 Taishi Ōsaka Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1662 Kasai Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled lower roof, hinoki upper roof ICP 1709 Kasai Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1710 Katō Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1478 Kobe Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1648 Miki Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1812 Miki Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof Prefectural mid-Muromachi period Miki Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, iron upper roof, tiled lower roof Prefectural 1715 Nishiwaki Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof Prefectural 1607 Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1767 Toyooka Hyōgo Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1463 Ikaruga Nara Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1615-1660 Kashihara Nara Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP late Edo period Heguri Nara Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1957 Ikoma Nara Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof early Meiji period Yoshino Nara Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof 1624 Kudoyama Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof Prefectural 1937 Kōya Wakayama Prefecture 5 ken; five Buddhas of the Diamond Realm enshrined inside, with bodhisattva painted on the columns, in a form of mandala; the first daitō was completed in 837; it and four successors were destroyed by fire 1834 Kōya Wakayama Prefecture 5 ken, tiled roof; five Buddhas of the Womb Realm enshrined inside 1984 Kōya Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken 1223 Kōya Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof; inside are Kamakura period wooden seated statues of the Five Buddhas National Treasure 1449 Wakayama Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1653 Wakayama Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1492-1554 Iwade Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, hinoki roof National Treasure 1275-1332 Arida Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; dismantled for repairs in 1935 ICP 1357 Kainan Wakayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; dismantled for repairs in 1927 National Treasure 1606 Kasaoka Okayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof ICP 1670 Kurashiki Okayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; rebuilt after a storm in 1843 Prefectural 1688-1703 Okayama Okayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1690 Setouchi Okayama Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1526 Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; originally part of a Hachiman shrine in Wakayama Prefecture; relocated in 1951 in honour of the victims of the atomic bomb Prefectural 1523 Hatsukaichi Hiroshima Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof ICP 1319-28 Onomichi Hiroshima Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof; dismantled for repairs in 1935, repainted in 1973 National Treasure 1942 Onomichi Hiroshima Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof; modelled on that of Ishiyama-dera Registered 1927 Mihara Hiroshima Prefecture 3 ken, copper roof Registered 1560 Kudamatsu Yamaguchi Prefecture 3 ken, shingle roof; inscription with date found in 1928 ICP 1618 Awa Tokushima Prefecture 5 ken, twin-storey, tiled roof; pillars unusually arranged in a concentric square; relocated from Sumiyoshi Taisha in Ōsaka during the Meiji period ICP 1963 Minami Tokushima Prefecture 1774 Awa Tokushima Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof Prefectural 1984 Higashikagawa Kagawa Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1954 Sanuki Kagawa Prefecture 3 ken 1980 Tadotsu Kagawa Prefecture 3 ken, tiled roof 1984 Takamatsu Kagawa Prefecture 3 ken
See also
List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)
References