Hyakuman-tō (three-tiered pagoda), unknown maker from Japan

Artwork Overview

Hyakuman-tō (three-tiered pagoda)
Hyakuman-tō (three-tiered pagoda)
Hyakuman-tō (three-tiered pagoda)
1700s or 1800s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Hyakuman-tō (three-tiered pagoda) , 1700s or 1800s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: wood; pigment
Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 21.1 x 10.5 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 8 5/16 x 4 1/8 in
Weight (Weight): 8 oz
Credit line: Gift of Melvin Dwork in memory of John Butler
Accession number: 2005.0078
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Sacred Space and Japanese Art at the Spencer Museum of Art

In the Buddhist tradition, full-size pagodas function to house relics, sacred writings, and other treasures. This miniature pagoda from Japan is modeled after one of the Hyakuman-tō (One Million Pagodas) commissioned by Empress Shōtoku (718–770) as an offering to the Buddha for the protection of the capital during the rebellion of Emi no Oshikatsu (Fujiwara no Nakamaro) of 764. Following their completion in 770, the pagodas were dispersed in sets of 100,000 to each of the ten main temples in Japan: Daianji, Kōfukuji, Gangōji, Yakushiji, Hōryūji, Saidaiji, Tōdaiji, Kawaradera, Sūfukuji, and Shitennōji. At present, only about 40,000 pagodas remain, many of which are located at Hōryūji.
This particular pagoda consists of a base below three stories and a spire (sōrin). Because the sōrin at the top was later glued to the body of this pagoda, it is unknown if there is anything inside it. Each one of the original Hyakuman-tō pagodas had a chamber inside the body where written protective incantations, known as darani, were placed. These written incantations are considered “Dharma relics” and are thought to be as sacred and miraculous as the Buddha’s corporeal remains. The dedication of Hyakuman-tō within the sacred spaces of temples provided peace and protection of the realm.
Text by Emily Cowan

Exhibition Label:
"Compassionate Beings: Japanese Buddhist Art," Sep-2009, Kris Ercums
In the eighth century, a Japanese empress commissioned one million small wooden pagodas, each containing a rolled piece of paper with a darani, a printed protective incantation. The empress commissioned this set of pagodas, known as the hyakuman-tō, in offering to the Buddha for protecting the capital from invaders. The one million objects were distributed to ten major temples, only one of which still possesses remains of the small structures. Although the finial of this pagoda is glued to the base, restricting access into a possible inner chamber, similarities to other hyakuman-tō indicate that it may be part of the set of one million pagodas made in the eighth century.

Exhibition Label:
“The Sacred and the Secular: Buddhist Imagery in Religious and Popular Contexts,” Oct-2005, Hillary Pedersen
In the eighth century, a Japanese empress commissioned one million small wooden pagodas, each containing a rolled piece of paper with a darani, or protective incantation, printed upon it. The empress commissioned this set of pagodas, known as the hyakuman-tō, in offering to the Buddha for protecting the capital from invaders. The one million objects were distributed to ten major temples, only one of which still possesses remains of the small structures.

Although the finial of this pagoda is glued to the base, restricting access into a possible inner chamber, similarities to other hyakuman-tō indicate that it may be part of the set of one million pagodas made in the 8th century.

Exhibitions

Reviving the Past: Antiquity & Antiquarianism in East Asian Art | Compassionate Beings: Japanese Buddhist Art
Kris Ercums, curator
2009–2010
Sacred Space and Japanese Art at the Spencer Museum of Art
Sherry Fowler, curator
2015
Brosseau Center for Learning: Japanese Sculpture
2018
Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art
Kris Ercums, curator
Rachel Straughn-Navarro, curator
2019–2020
Interweaving Cultures along the Silk Road(s)
Sherry Fowler, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
2020
Brosseau Center for Learning: Japanese Painting and Buddhism
2022
Brosseau Center for Learning: Japanese Art
Michael VanHartingsveldt, curator
Sherry Fowler, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
2024
Brosseau Center for Learning: Teaching from the Collection
Sherry Fowler, curator
Emma Scioli, curator
Paul Stock, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
2024
Brosseau Center for Learning: Natural Wonder and Japanese Sculpture
Cara Nordengren, curator
2025

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
Episode 50 Nov-2005, Alison Miller, Asian Art Intern I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. Currently on display in the Spencer’s Asian gallery is a recently donated small wooden pagoda, or hyakumantô. Although it may look unassuming, this thirteen-hundred-year-old object has many stories to tell. It is one of a million such pagodas commissioned in the 8th century by Empress Kôken of Japan. Created from two pieces of wood, it was originally covered in a white clay known as slip, traces of which remain. The interior cavity of the hyakumantô likely housed a darani, a miniature scroll printed with excerpts from Buddhist sûtras. The concept of the pagoda originated in India in the third century BCE as the stûpa, a circular mound containing Buddhist relics. When Buddhism was imported to China, the stûpa was combined with the Chinese watchtower to form the multi-storied pagoda. The structure further developed in Japan, and to this day pagodas are still seen as symbolic of the Buddha. About forty thousand hyakumantô survive, and are found in private and public collections worldwide. With thanks to Alison Miller for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.