pagoda

pagoda (pəgō`də), name given in the East to a variety of buildings of tower form that are usually part of a temple or monastery group and serve as shrines. Those of India (see stupa) are chiefly pyramidal structures of masonry, tapering to an apex and elaborately adorned with carving and sculpture. In China the pagoda, derived from India, is one of the most characteristic architectural types and in general is devoted to sacred usage. Octagonal, hexagonal, or square in plan, they are built in superimposed stories, sometimes as many as 15; from each story projects an upward-curving tiled roof. The material most commonly used is brick, often faced with slabs of glazed and colored tile. A few date back to the T'ang dynasty (A.D. 618–906). In Japan the pagodas were introduced from China with Buddhism. They are usually square in plan and five stories high, each story having its projecting roof. Generally made of wood, they exhibit superb carpentry craftsmanship. The Horyu-ji tower near Nara, of the 7th cent., is a noted example.

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pagoda

A square pagoda of the Daigo Temple, Kyoto, Japan.

(credit: Manley Features/Shostal Associates)

Towerlike multistoried structure of stone, brick, or wood, usually associated with a Buddhist temple complex and enshrining sacred relics. The pagoda evolved from the Indian stupa. The pagoda's crowning ornament is pyramidal or conical in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos and bottle-shaped in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. In other parts of China and in Korea and Japan, a pagoda is a tall tower repeating a basic story unit in diminishing proportions. The stories may be circular, square, or polygonal. The pagoda form is intended mainly as a monument and has very little usable interior space.