Commemorative ceremony for the repairs to the pagoda of the Yakushiji Temple in Nara in 110 years

NARA — The dismantling and repair of the east pagoda at Yakushiji Temple, a national treasure in the city of Nara, was commemorated at a ceremony on February 15, completing the work that lasted more than a decade.

The pagoda, which is 34 meters high, is the only surviving construction from the time the temple was founded, approximately 1,300 years ago. This is the first time it has been dismantled and repaired in the last 110 years. The restoration project began in 2009.

The ceremony was attended by some 60 people, including monks and repair workers, who celebrated the completion of the repair with a “ritual” of “sange,” a practice of scattering petal-shaped pieces of paper. The celebration was scheduled for April 2020 but was postponed due to the state of emergency due to the coronavirus.

The East Pagoda is also known as “Frozen Music” or “Music that stopped in time”, due to the beauty of its roofs of various sizes that overlap each other. As a precaution against strong earthquakes that are expected to hit Japan in the near future, the central column, foundation and platform were reinforced.

From March 1 to January 16, 2022, a special exhibition is planned to be held at Yakushiji Temple, where the doors of the East Pagoda will be kept open to allow views of the central column and other parts of the pagoda from the outside.

(Original Japanese Press Release by Natsumi Tanaka and Yusuke Kato, Nara Bureau)