Anrakuji Temple Three-Story Pagoda
Anrakuji Temple Three-Story Pagoda (interior)
Anrakuji Temple Three-Story Pagoda
JAPAN, Nagano, Ueda
The pagoda stands on a hill behind the main hall of Anrakuji Temple. The temple was founded during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) by a Zen monk Shokoku Isen and is the oldest Zen temple in Nagano. The pagoda was built during the Nanbokucho period (1336–1392) and it is the only extant octagonal three-story pagoda in Japan. It was originally constructed to house Buddha relics, but the relics were later moved to the Golden Hall. The pagoda was listed as a National Treasure in 1952.
The pagoda measures 18.8 m high, and it has a roof covered with cypress boards and eaves upturned at the corners. The first story has double eaves, and the eight sides of the second and third stories have vertical bar windows. A seated Vairocana Buddha is enshrined inside an octagonal wooden structure in the first story.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Architecture A-F, page 20.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Johnson, Peter and Mankuang and Lancaster, Lewis,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Architecture A-F},
pages = 20,
title = {{Anrakuji Temple Three-Story Pagoda}},
volume = 1,
year = {2016}}