Taima-dera East Pagoda
Taima-dera in Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture, is the only temple in Japan where both of its original east and west pagodas still stand. The older of the two is the East Pagoda. Built late in the Nara period, it rises 24.4 meters from the base to the tip of its bronze finial, and it belongs to the small group of three-story pagodas that survive from the eighth century.
Look up at it and one oddity stands out before any other. The first story has three bays to a side, as a pagoda normally does. The second and third stories have only two. An even number of bays puts a pillar at the dead center of each face, something old Japanese carpenters almost always avoided. No other ancient pagoda in the country gives its second story two bays.
A temple of uncertain beginnings
The temple's origins are not firmly recorded. Tradition credits its founding to Prince Maroko, a younger half-brother of Prince Shotoku, with a later move to the foot of Mount Futakami during the seventh century. Two schools, Koyasan Shingon and Jodo, share the grounds today. The arrangement reflects the long devotion to the Taima Mandala and the legend of Princess Chujo that grew up alongside it.
When the East Pagoda went up is unknown. Details of the carpentry place it in the closing decades of the Nara period, which makes it the oldest building still standing at Taima-dera. Its companion, the West Pagoda, followed in the early Heian period and stands slightly taller at 25.2 meters. In 1180 the warrior Taira no Shigehira burned much of Nara's temple district, yet the two pagodas and the main image of the golden hall came through, evidence that the fire spared this part of the precinct.
Why it is a National Treasure
The East Pagoda was designated a National Treasure on 29 March 1952. Its worth rests partly on rarity and partly on the survival of a complete ancient pair.
The two-bay upper stories are the feature that draws architectural historians. A two-bay third story has one parallel, at Hoki-ji, but the two-bay second story has none. The finial sets a second puzzle. Where most pagodas carry nine rings, the East Pagoda has eight, and so does the West, and no document records the reason. Crowning the finial is a suien, the openwork flame ornament, shaped here like a fish skeleton, a form found on no other tower. Whether this suien dates from the original build is uncertain.
What to look for
The pagodas sit higher on the slope than the golden hall, an inversion of the usual temple plan, so they read clearly from a distance and take the light well in late afternoon. The bracket sets are three-stepped, with no struts placed between the columns, and the eaves reach far out at a shallow pitch. Seen from across the valley, the effect is light rather than heavy.
The grounds are open without charge, and the East Pagoda can be approached and viewed up close at no cost, since admission applies only to the halls. From the garden of Naka-no-bo, the East Pagoda was deliberately framed as a borrowed-scenery "treasure tower" above the pond, a composition laid out by the tea master and daimyo Katagiri Sekishu. The interior is normally closed. The first story has been opened to visitors on selected days in some years, so it is worth checking the temple's notices before a trip.
Getting there and nearby
Taima-dera Station on the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line is about a fifteen-minute walk from the gate. The three main halls (main hall, golden hall and lecture hall) keep hours of roughly 9:00 to 17:00, with a single admission of about 500 yen for adults. Inside the main hall are the Taima Mandala and, on a dais donated in the Kamakura period, fittings counted as national treasures in their own right.
Worth pairing with a visit: Sekko-ji a short distance away, known for its peonies; the twin summits of Mount Futakami, which give the temple its mountain name; and, in the wider town of Katsuragi, the sumo museum that marks the area's claim as a birthplace of the sport. Within the precinct itself stand a bronze bell and a stone lantern, both said to rank among the oldest of their kind in Japan.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the East Pagoda?
- Normally no; the interior is closed. The first story has been opened on special days in some years, so check the temple's announcements. From outside you can walk right up to it at no charge.
- How do the East and West Pagodas differ?
- The East is older, from the late Nara period, with two-bay upper stories and a fishbone-shaped suien. The West is early Heian, slightly taller, keeps three bays on every story, and has a suien shaped like an unopened lotus. Both share the unusual eight-ring finial.
- Why does the finial have eight rings instead of nine?
- No record explains it. Nine rings are standard and are traditionally linked to a set of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The eight-ring form here is one of the pagoda's distinctive traits and remains unexplained.
- How do I get there?
- From Taima-dera Station on the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line it is about a 15-minute walk. The line is reached from the Osaka Abenobashi direction.
- When is a good time to visit?
- Spring brings peonies and the temple's spring memorial procession; autumn colour suits the hillside pagodas. The grounds are pleasant year-round, and clear late-afternoon light flatters the towers.
Basic Information
| Name | Taima-dera East Pagoda (當麻寺東塔) |
|---|---|
| Location | Taima, Katsuragi City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | National Treasure (architecture) |
| Designated | 29 March 1952 |
| Period | Late Nara period (8th century) |
| Structure | Three-bay, three-story pagoda; formal tile roof (hongawarabuki) |
| Height | 24.4 m including the finial |
| Quantity | One structure |
| Owner | Taima-dera |
| Access | About 15 min on foot from Taima-dera Station (Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line) |
| Viewing | Grounds free; the East Pagoda is viewable from outside at no charge; hall admission approx. 500 yen |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: Taima-dera East Pagoda
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/186926
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2779
- Taima-dera official site: precinct halls and pagodas
- https://www.taimadera.org/guide/3/index.html
- Taima-dera Gonen-in: on the eight-ring finial
- https://taimadera-gonenin.or.jp/cate-gonenin/post-1561/
Last verified: 2026.06.04