toutou　東塔

KEY WORD :　architecture / buildings & structures

Lit. east pagoda. A pagoda located toward the front and on the east side of a temple's precinct grounds. When there are two pagodas the other is built on the west side of the precinct grounds and called saitou 西塔 (west pagoda). One example still extant is the original east pagoda, Toutou at Yakushiji 薬師寺 (early 8c) in Nara. At Taimadera 当麻寺 also in Nara, there is a 3-storied east pagoda (8c), and a three storied west pagoda (9c), both original. The pagodas at Taimadera have a central pillar *shinbashira 心柱, that reaches from ground level up through the uppermost roofs, which carry the finials *sourin 相輪. The east pagoda is 3×3 bays (5.32 m square) while the west pagoda is 3 ×3 bays (5.23 m square on the ground floor). The east pagoda is only 2-bays square on the 2nd and 3rd stories in contrast to the west pagoda which is 3-bays square on each story. The dimensions decrease on each of the upper stories in both structures. Unique to both the toutou and saitou are the finials because they have only 8 rings instead of the usual nine. There were east and west pagodas at Toudaiji 東大寺 (8c) but only their foundation mounds remain. At Enryakuji 延暦寺 in Shiga prefecture, where the *Konpon chuudou 根本中堂 is located, there is toutou.

REFERENCES:

*garan haichi 伽藍配置, *tou 塔

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