YAKUSHIJI - JAPAN


Yakushiji ( or Three Storied Pagoda ) was first erected in the Asuka region by Emperor Temmu in the late 7th century, in an attempt to bring about the recovery of his ailing consort (who later became Empress Jito) and later moved to its present location. One of Japan's oldest temples, Yakushiji has a strictly symmetric, Chinese style layout, with the main and lecture halls standing on a central axis, flanked by two pagodas. The main hall was rebuilt in the 1970s after being destroyed by fire, and houses the Yakushi trinity, a masterpiece of Japanese Buddhist art. The east pagoda is the temple's only structure to have survived the many fires and dates from 730. It appears to have six stories, but is in fact three storied, like the west pagoda.

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Yakushiji

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