In fact, there are no similar examples in Japan. This stone pagoda also has an unusual appearance. While the wheels at its top (called sōrin 相輪) were replaced at some point, the other parts appear to be original. It features a thin, tall body measuring 7.4 m in height, with a wide roof and thin eaves. The three-story pagoda at Ishidōji 石塔寺 temple in the city of Higashi Ōmi in Shiga Prefecture is one of Japan’s ancient-style stone pagodas. In this paper, I will focus on the nature of such places and stone pagodas’ functions from this perspective. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the places where they were located, as Sagawa does. While scholars have discussed ancient stone pagodas’ genealogies and dates with a focus on their morphological similarities to stone pagodas in China and Korea, Japan’s stone pagodas are different from those pagodas in size, basic form, and construction techniques, making such discussions not very meaningful. However, there is still a gap in the literature concerning the background of stone pagoda construction during that time. In recent years, Sagawa Shin’ichi has pointed out that many stone pagodas predating the 9th century exist in places that were primarily used for mountain forest religious training, offering a new perspective for the field ( Sagawa 2021). While prominent Japanese stonework scholar Kawakatsu Masatarō published his famous work Nihon sekizai kōgeishi 日本石材工芸史 ( The History of Japanese Stone Craftwork), covering the background of 7th and 8th century stonework creation and providing an overview of existing materials from the time, he also noted that there was insufficient knowledge of their details due to lack of materials ( Kawakatsu 1957). Therefore, the background to their construction and historical characteristics were unclear, and research that brought together examples of these stone pagodas was necessary. However, there are few stone pagodas from the Heian period (794–1185) and earlier, in terms of both type and absolute number. Stonework pieces from the latter half of the 13th century and later are particularly prevalent throughout Japan, and have drawn the attention of many researchers and lay historians. While there are many examples of stonework in Japan, the most familiar are pagodas and Buddhist figures.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |