Pagoda at Tanzan Jinja

 

Thirteen storied pagoda on a hill



Tanzan Jinja, a Shinto shrine, is nestled in the mountains of Tono-mine, Sakurai City, Nara. It’s not so conveniently located to visit but if you are interested in old towers of Japan (and perhaps hiking), the shrine is worth trying.

Horrendous traffic jams are seen here in fall when people come to see the colorful and brilliant foliage of trees like maples. The pagoda and other structures adorned by the autumn colors simply look breathtaking. However, if you gracefully give up the colors, you can completely appreciate the quiet surroundings. The precincts are the home of many kinds of trees including cherry trees so you don’t have to despair so much. Besides, the pagoda always stands there pleasantly.

It is the only wooden thirteen storied pagoda extant in the world. Originally built in 678 to pay homage by the eldest son to his late father, the pagoda went through destruction wrought by monk soldiers of the rival temple, Kofuku-ji built at the political center of ancient Nara. Both temples were affiliated with the powerful Fujiwara clan, the aristocratic family who enjoyed the favor of successive emperors and thus glory at the court life. But they were bitter rivals due to the difference of the sects they belonged to. Also many battles were fought around here in the middle age. The present tower is a reconstruction completed in 1532.

As I wrote, this Shinto shrine was, simply put, a temple. They converted from Buddhist entity to that of Shinto when confronted with the policy of the Meiji Government. Japan’s first modern government was frantically trying to catch up with the industrialized west and be recognized as one of the first-class nations in the world. The then government issued a decree that Buddhism and Shinto be clearly separated. Before this decree, the two belief systems operated together, inseparable and practically one. The original temple became Jinja, or Shinto shrine, in the latter half of the 19th century.

Pagodas evolved from burial mounds for the historical Buddha, Shiddhartha Gautama; thus it’s Buddhist rather than Shinto. However, as I’ve already mentioned, Buddhism and Shinto in Japan were two sides of the same coin and still are, despite the fact that the Meiji government tried to make a pure, nationalistic religion of Shinto by removing from it any possible influence and taint of Buddhism.

As a remnant of the past, Tanzan Jinja embraces a quaint thirteen storied pagoda　(17 meters tall, not that tall but the right height considering it stands on a rise).

Architecturally, this pagoda was made differently from the rest of the existing pagodas in Japan. All the others except this one adopted the style of multi-roofs with proper heights in-between, while the one here are rather that of multi-eaves densely layered on top of each other. This pagoda has through pillars, standing from the bottom to the top. The other pagodas do not have such; their only through pillar is Shinbashira, or heart pillar. This pagoda is said to have been modeled after the same type in ancient China which was long lost.

The name Tanzan (the mountain of discussion) was said to be coined because a prince and his trusted statesman Kamatari (later given the family name of Fujiwara by the emperor who was ascended from prince) discussed things over about the coup d'etat they were concocting. The pagoda was a dedication to Kamatari by his son. 



 See more pics below.



Inside the prayer hall




Hanging lanterns and stone lanterns below



The hall from the 17th century

Taken from an open space where ancient ball game was enjoyed