Tahoto: a Japanese Pagoda
Tahoto is a Buddhist architectural structure in the form of a Japanese pagoda. The architectural structure is basically found primarily at Esoteric Shingon and Tendai school Buddhist temples. Since the pagoda has an even number of stories, it is regarded as a unique among other pagodas.
Tahoto is regarded as one of the seven halls of a Shingon temple and is equipped with square lower parts and cylindrical upper parts, a mokoshi skirt roof, a pyramidal roof, and a finial. It is recorded that the construction of pagodas was declined after the Heian period which resulted in being rare of tahoto after that period.
Variations of Tahoto
While observing the architectural structures of Tahoto, we may find two variations- Hoto and Daito.
Actually, hoto is the ancestor of the tahoto, meaning it dates before the construction of tahoto and dates to the introduction of Shingon and Tendai Buddhism in the ninth century. Currently, no hoto architectural designed pagodas are erected but we can find modern copies to hoto.
Daito is larger versions of the tahoto. It is also known as the large pagoda. This type of tahoto is the only one which retains the original structures with a row of pillars or a wall separating the corridor from the core of the structure. Daito used to be common and are seen almost where but time Daito also collapsed. Currently, we can still see some of them. Some of the structures preserved today are - Negoro JI, Kongobu Ji at Wakayama prefecture, Kirihata Dera at Tokushima prefecture, etc.
It is learned that Kukai, the renowned Buddhist monk and founder of the Shingon school, also built the celebrated Daito for Kongobu Ji on Koyasan. This Daito is 50 m tall.
Architectural structure of Tahoto
The architectural structure of tahoto can be divided into single-story, floor plan, upper part, and finial.
Single-storey: From the outer side, the tahoto appears to be double storied but when accessed through inside, people will find that the upper part is inaccessible with no usable space. The lower roof provides shelter and is known as a mokoshi.
Floor plan: the ground floor has a square plan which is raised over the kamebara or tortoise mound. Inside the tahoto, a room is marked out by the shitenbashira or four pillars of heaven. This place enshrines the Buddha statues.
Upper part: above the ground floor, there is second tortoise mound in a residual reference to the stupa. Above to that, there is a short cylindrical section and a pyramidal roof which is based on four stepped brackets.
Finial: the finial are also known as Sorin. It is observed that all the Japanese pagodas are topped by a vertical shaft known as final. Finial has the base, an inverted bowl, nine rings, water flame, and jewel. The finial's division in sections has a symbolic meaning and its structure represents a pagoda.
Symbolic meaning behind the tahoto
It has been documented that the Iron Stupa in southern India is depicted as a single storey pagoda with a cylindrical body, a pyramidal roof, and a spire. This was the place where patriarch Nagarjuna received the esoteric scriptures. It has been debated that the form used in the tahoto may represent the five elements or the five virtues. These forms are namely the square, circle, triangle, semi-circle, and circle. The egg-shaped stupa may represent Mount Sumeru with the finial as the axis of the world.
When interpreted through folk beliefs, the square base may represent a folded robe, the dome as an overturned begging bowl, and the spire as a walking staff. It is also believed that the tahoto served not as a reliquary tower but often as an icon hall.
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