Horyu-ji Temple

Horyu-ji Temple 

By: Kyle Miller

For my thesis, I wanted to research a structure that was influenced by the Tang Dynasty. The Horyu-ji Temple is located in Asuka, Japan. It is a Buddhist temple which was founded in the seventh century c.e. by Prince Skotoku, who dedicated it to the memory of his father, the emperor. In 607 the temple was completed but burned down in 670 due to a lighting fire. It was reconstructed from 676-700 but shifted to a different location on the site to the northwest. The materials of the Horyu-ji temple is said to be the oldest wooden building in Japan and maybe in the world. The Horyu-ji temple is made up of two areas which are the Sai-in, on the west and the To-in on the east. The Sai-in includes a two-story Kondo which is also known as the Golden Hall and a five-story pagoda. The To-in includes the Hall of Dreams or Yumedono.

The Kondo resembles it prototypes, Buddhist art galleries in temples built by the China Tang Dynasty in the seventh and eighth centuries c.e. The Kondo roof form is simple, double roofed with upcurved corners. The roof protrudes more than 13 feet and had to add extra supports in the corners. When looking at the structure it looks like two stories due to the two roofs but on the inside it is only one space. The ceiling is coffered around the edges. In 1949, there was a fire that destroyed the Kondo wall paintings which were among the earliest temple murals known in Japan.

Next to the Kondo is the five story pagoda which was completed around 700 c.e. Its style is that of the Tang dynasty. The architectural details include brackets, capitals, railings, are almost identical to those of the Kondo. The pagoda function as a comic axis diminished as the images of Buddha. The pagoda holds the pattern of relic chambers and mast found in Indian stupas. The pagoda has a massive stone foundation that is set 10 feet into the ground has a hollow for holy relics and from the ground to the base to the spire is 107 feet.

The basic to Japanese structural component is the brackets support the projecting tile roofs which articulated the structure of seemingly ornamental repetition of detail. Bracketing was used in Japanese temples because there was an abundance of supply of wood from Japan forested mountains.

There are unique historical cultural treasures of Japan can be found throughout the 187,000 square meter grounds of the Horyu-ji temple. There are more than 2,300 significant articles and structures are housed in the temple including 90 items that are considered as pieces of National Treasures of the country. It was the first in Japan to be chosen by UNESCO as part of their list of World Heritage on 1993, due to its function as a significant architecture housing Buddhist culture.

Traditions in Architecture: Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania / Dora P. Crouch and June G. Johnson