A is a Japanese pagoda

Tō

The , sometimes also called or is the Japanese version of the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian stupa. Pagodas are quintessentially Buddhist and an important component of Japanese Buddhist temple compounds but, because until the Kami and Buddhas Separation Act of 1868 a...

, so called because it originally contained the sūtra

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

. A Chinese varianto of the Indian stūpa

Stupa

A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....

, it was originally conceived as a cenotaph of the King of Wuyue - Qian Liu

Qian Liu

Qian Liu , courtesy name Jumei , nickname Poliu , formally King Wusu of Wuyue with the temple name of Taizu , was founder and first king of the Kingdom of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, ruling over roughly modern Zhejiang on the east coast of China.- Background :Qian...

.

Structure and function

Usually made in stone and occasionally metal or wood, hōkyōintō started to be made in their present form during the Kamakura period

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

. Like a gorintō

Gorinto

is the name of a Japanese type of Buddhist pagoda believed to have been first adopted by the Shingon and Tendai sects during the mid Heian period. It is used for memorial or funerary purposes and is therefore common in Buddhist temples and cemeteries. It is also called or , where the term sotoba...

, they are divided in five main sections called (from the bottom up) , or "inverted flower seat", , or base, , or body, , or umbrella, and , or pagoda finial. The tōshin is the most important part of the hōkyōintō and is carved with a Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 letter. The sōrin has the same shape as the tip of a five-storied pagoda. The kasa can also be called , or roof. It's decorated with four characteristic wings called or . Different structures exist, and the hōkyōintō property of the Yatsushiro Municipal Museum in Kyushu for example is divided in just four parts, with no kaeribanaza.

The sūtra contain all the pious deeds of a Tathagata

Tathagata

Tathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...

 Buddha, and the faithful believe that praying in front of a hōkyōintō their sins will be canceled, during their lives they will be protected from disasters and after death they will go to heaven.

The hōkyōintō tradition in Japan is old and is believed to have begun during the Asuka period

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

(550–710 CE). They used to be made of wood and started to be made in stone only during the Kamakura period. It is also during this period that they started to be used also as tombstones and cenotaphs.