Impressive Ruins Of 13th Century Pagoda Remains Discovered At Nara’s Todaiji Temple, Japan

AncientPages.com - A team of researchers has found the partial remains of a 13th century pagoda foundation at the Todaiji temple.

A Todaiji temple pagoda razed in war during the Heian Period (794-1185) was likely rebuilt into one of the biggest structures of its kind in Japan using state-of-the-art technology from China.

According to researchers, conducting an excavation study at the Toto site, a structure was somewhat larger than the original and probably had dimensions unparalleled in Japan.

The pagoda may have towered 100 meters but other opinions propose only 70 meters.

The remains measure approximately 27 meters in length and width and date back to the Kamakura period (1192-1333) when the East Pagoda was rebuilt on it having seven stories and 70-100 meters above the ground.

The rebuilt Toto (east pagoda) at the famed temple in the ancient capital burned down again after it was hit by lightning in 1362.

“It was accepted practice in Nara to restore temples after how they looked during the Tenpyo Era (729-749), but the latest finding has uncovered an exception for the first time,” said Kakichi Suzuki, leader of the study group and a former director of the Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute.

“Perhaps people at the time decided to follow the style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) of China and build a solid pagoda with thicker pillars, just as they did with the Great Buddha Hall and the Great South Gate of Todaiji,” Suzuki said.

A pair of pagodas, Toto and Saito (west pagoda), were built around the 750s or 760s to the southeast and southwest, respectively, of the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji.

Toto was set on fire by the Taira warrior clan in 1180 and rebuilt in 1227. Saito was lost to a lightning strike in 934 and not rebuilt.

The researchers have unearthed pillar cornerstone holes, cobblestones and other artifacts. The remains of staircases were also found on the northern and eastern sides, as well as round stone pavements.

The two central pillars on each side were about 6 meters apart, while space between the corner pillars and first inner pillars was about 5.4 meters. These were around the same dimensions used in the Great South Gate.

The building structure was apparently supported by pillars that were thicker than those commonly used in the Nara Period (710-794). It was reinforced by horizontal beams called “nuki” (penetrating tie beams) that passed through the pillars, the experts said.

The 55-meter five-story pagoda at Toji temple in Kyoto is the tallest of all existing pagodas in Japan.

Investigations next year will begin into remnants from the time the pagoda was initially built during the Nara Period. Preservation of the pagoda foundation will start in 2021. Studies of the remains of Saito are expected to begin in 2017.

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source: The Asahi Shimbun