The , also known as Tower of Yasaka and Yasaka-no-to, is a
Buddhist pagoda located in
Kyoto, Japan. The 5-story tall pagoda is the last remaining structure of a 6th-century temple complex known as Hōkan-ji Temple. The pagoda is a popular tourist attraction.
History
Archaeological evidence dates the foundation of the Yasaka Pagoda to the 7th Century. The founding date is disputed between the reign of
Prince Shotoku
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
and the sixth year of the
Tenmu
was the 40th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53.
Tenmu's r ...
period (678 CE).
The pagoda and the associated temple were destroyed and reconstructed several times up to 1408, of which the current pagoda stands to this day.
Control of the pagoda was historically disputed between the nearby
Shinto Gion Shrine and the Buddhist temple of
Kiyomizu-dera, to the point the pagoda was burnt down in May of 1179.
It was later rebuilt in 1191 with funding from
Kawachi Genji noble
Minamoto no Yoritomo. In 1240, the head priest of the nearby Buddhist temple of
Kennin-ji affiliated the pagoda with
Zen Buddhism, which remains the official designation of the Yasaka Pagoda to the present day.
See also
*
Kennin-ji
*
Kiyomizu-dera
References
{{reflist
Buddhist temples in Kyoto
Buddhist temples in Kyoto Prefecture
Pagodas in Japan