Hokki-ji, a Buddhist temple in Okamoto, Japan, a masterpiece of wooden architecture, and one of the

Hokki-ji, a Buddhist temple in Okamoto, Japan, a masterpiece of wooden architecture, and one of the Seven Great Temples of Nara. 708 AD, Nara Period. Hokki-ji is located on the original site of the Okamoto Palace, and was largely built of the materials from it. Legend has it that Prince Shotoku, who dedicated his life to spreading Buddhism, read and came to understand the Lotus Sutra (one of the Buddhist teachings) in a palace that was later turned into a temple in the 7th century. The 24 m tall, three-storied pagoda built in 708 is the oldest in Japan, and although most other buildings were destroyed by fire, this pagoda indicates what the temple would have looked like when it was built. It is designated a National Treasure due to being one of the very few surviving 7th century pagodas. It looks very much like the five-storied pagoda of Horyu-ji built under the same prince, and it is thought that it was constructed by someone who possessed the same technique as the person who built Horyu-ji. -Japan National Tourism Organization Photos courtesy & taken by Mith Huang. -- source link

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