East Padoda of Yakushiji Temple

I like to visit sight-seeing sites, generally because of my curiosity and the sense of accomplishment that I have seen it. But some sight-seeing sites are moving to me. There are three such sites for me in the 8th century capital city of Nara; the East Pagoda of Yakushiji, Kudara Kannon Statue in Horyuji and Miroku Bosatsu Statue in Chuguji. The last two are Buddhism statues similar to human being, but the East Pagoda is unique that it is an architecture very much moving to me.

If you can not remember the image of that pagoda, why don't you surf on the Web ? You will immediately find dozens of beautiful pictures. For example,
http://www.naranet.co.jp/yakushiji/kentiku/tou2.html.
It is a three-storeyed pagoda built in 730 AD as a typical Hakuho Arts in Tempyo Era. Another theory says that the pagoda might be moved to the current location in the old capital of Nara from Original Yakushiji Temple completed in 698 AD in the previous capital of Fujiwara. Among architectures of Yakushiji Temple, which was burnt to ash in 973 and never reconstructed for many centuries, only the East Pagoda survived and kept the original form, although it was repaired many times. Very recently in 1981, the West Pagoda was reconstructed and the view of a pair of pagodas was resumed there after many centuries. Two pagodas are almost the same, but the West Pagoda was built to resume the most original form. Hence it is slightly taller than the East Pagoda which was shortened every time it was repaired by cutting the original wood little by little. The West Pagoda has a little more curved roofs, windows in the upper storeys, which were originally there, and is beautiful in its newly painted vermilion.

The Pagodas are three-storeyed but look six-storeyed with six layers of roofs.. Under each layer of conventional roof, there is another smaller roof called Mokoshi supported by rectangular plaster walls. Combination of the sizes of six roofs and walls is very pretty. An American scholar of arts and a visiting professor to University of Tokyo in the late 19th century, Prof. Fenollosa, praised it "Frozen music". I can understand what it means. If a rhythmical music is instantly frozen to make a shape, something like this will result.

I am now assembling a model of this East Pagoda in the 1/75 scale. I saw this assembly kit from a model company "Imai" in a mail order catalog. Wanting to decorate my living quarters with this moving pagoda, I bought it without the slightest hesitation for a big money of Yen 37,800 (about $ 350). Later I found the same kit at
http://st5.yahoo.co.jp/national/
for Yen 33,000 sold together with wines. I first thought that an assembly kit must be what is to be assembled by merely pasting every part one by one. But reality was far from it. Parts were roughly pre-cut, but the kit was actually a "handicraft kit" requiring full use of a triangle, a cutter knife, carving knives, tweezers, and clamps. I started assembly in mid-April and spent time like 20 minutes before breakfast, 90 minutes after I returned home, 10 hours in the weekends and so on. The uppermost roof is about to be completed now in late May. It will take 30 more hours to complete. If the working hour cost is counted, it must be worth more than Yen 1 million. I have not counted but probably several hundred or almost one thousand parts must have been cut out of the materials to be pasted. If you enjoy a little program coding and are good at handicraft, you will enjoy step by step assembly, but if you are not a person of that sort, I don't recommend you to try this. The material of the model is, like the real pagoda, Japanese cypress wood which spreads good smell when cut. The total height is going to be 475 mm.

I think I found the secret of its beauty while I was assembling the model.
1. One roof is as wide as 15 m, but one side of the smallest plaster walls is only 3 m wide. The contrast of sizes is bold and modern.
2. Combination of sizes from the top to the bottom makes a rhythm.
3. There are two layers of rafters in order for smaller walls to support a larger roof. The rafters are in turn supported by complex wood structures, which are beautiful by themselves.
4. The two upper storeys have what appear like observation verandas called Kumi Taka Ran. Their rails are pretty. But people could not climb up to the verandas because there is no space for people inside the tower.

The three-storeyed or five-storeyed pagoda was originally a grave post for Buddha with its bone ash in a container located at the base of the central pole piercing through the pagoda. When worship of an idol was not liked in the early Buddhism soon after its introduction to Japan, the pagoda was the center of worship in a temple. Later when worship of Buddhism statues prevailed, the main hall of the temple with the main Buddhism statue became the center of the temple, and the ground floor of the pagoda enshrined another Buddhism statue rather than Buddha's bone ash, which became very difficult to get. The metal rod at the top is called Sorin and simulates the form of the original "Stupa" in India, in which Buddha's bone ash was enshrined. Kurin, or literally nine rings, located in the middle stretch of Sorin, inherits the form of a sun shade umbrella to cover the bone ash. Above Kurin, there are four open-worked metal sheets placed in four directions. They are flames to burn out evils but called Sui-en, or water-smoke, avoiding a word of fire. In the case of East Pagoda's 3-ton Sorin, dancing angel ladies represent flames. This style was originated in China, to place Sorin after the form of Stupa, and was introduced into Japan when Buddhism reached Japan.

Before long, a 475 mm tall East Pagoda of Yakushiji will be completed in my house.

End