Recorded Joy·Rakunan / Kyoto Station South

To-ji (Kyo-o-gokoku-ji)

At about 55 meters, the five-story pagoda remains the tallest wooden structure in Japan. Kūkai—Kōbō Daishi—began the work in 826, though, by the temple's own account, short of both funds and hands he petitioned the court for help hauling the timber. Lightning and fire took the pagoda four times over the centuries, and each time it was rebuilt. The one standing now is the fifth, raised in 1644.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.