Yasaka Pagoda (Hokan-ji) - Old Kyoto's Skyline

Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Kyoto: Higashiyama and Gion on Foot, a free self-guided tour.

Look up at the five-story Yasaka Pagoda, about 46 meters of dark wood and the symbol of old Kyoto on countless postcards. It belongs to Hokan-ji, a small Zen temple. Temple tradition says Prince Shotoku founded it in the late 500s after a dream; archaeologists date it to the 7th century instead. Either way, it is older than Kyoto itself, which became the capital in 794.

The pagoda has burned more than once. In 1179 it went up in flames during a quarrel between Gion Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera, and the warrior Minamoto no Yoritomo paid to rebuild it. The tower you see went up in 1440, after another fire, with the backing of shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori.

A pagoda is a reliquary rather than a worship hall. Inside, images of five Buddhas sit around a great central pillar. Notice how each roof is a little smaller than the one below, which keeps the tower looking light.

Getting here: At the foot of Sannenzaka, where the lane levels out at a junction, turn left onto Yasaka-dori and walk downhill about two minutes; the pagoda rises on your right.

Did you know?: The central pillar that runs up through wooden pagodas like this one helps them ride out earthquakes, and the designers of Tokyo Skytree borrowed the idea for that tower's central column.

Photo op: Walk a little farther downhill (west) on Yasaka-dori and turn around: the lane of tiled roofs climbs straight up to the pagoda. Keep to the edge, as cars use this narrow street.

More on Wikipedia: Yasaka Pagoda · Prince Shotoku · Minamoto no Yoritomo · Ashikaga Yoshinori

Yasaka Pagoda (Hokan-ji) - Old Kyoto's Skyline

Stops on this tour