Glossary · P
Pagoda
Also called ta, tō, pagodas
A tower of storeys and projecting roofs built over relics, descended from the Indian stupa; in China and Korea of timber, brick or stone, in Japan almost always of timber, with a central pillar and a bronze spire.
See also: Shinbashira, Sōrin
Rules that use the word
Diminish the pagoda upward. Make each storey of a pagoda narrower than the one below and derive all from the bay of the first storey; in the oldest Japanese pagodas the top storey is about half as wide as the first.
The central pillar stands free. Run a single great pillar up the centre of the pagoda to carry the spire, but do not let the storeys rest on it: each storey stands on its own frame, stacked around the pillar.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea, Gardens and Landscape.
A feature of Japanese architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Orthostat · Oval · Ovolo · Pada · Paifang · Palazzo · Palissade · Palmiform