Yakushiji Temple - East Pagoda / West Pagoda
Category: Temple

Pagodas primarily represented the grave of the Gautama Buddha. “Stupa” in Sanskrit was translated into Japanese as卒塔婆, pronounced sotōba, then shortened to 塔婆, pronounced tōba and shortened once again to 塔, pronounced tō, which is the suffix for “pagoda” in Japanese. Yakushiji Temple is the first temple to build two pagodas in Japan. The eastern pagoda (National Treasure) is the only structure still in existence from the time of the foundation. At first glance, the pagoda seems have six stories due to the small pent-roofs under each story. However, it is actually a three-storied pagoda. Due to the way that the large and small roofs overlap each other rhythmically, it was praised as “frozen music”.

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Sightseeing Spots in the area

World Heritage Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara