The  huge  polished  slab  of  marble  near  by,  a  tablet  cov-
ered with  an  extraordinarily  fine  example  of  Chinese  cal-
ligraphy extolling  the  Buddha,  was  erected  here  by  com-
mand of  the  Empress  Gemmyo  (708-715).  The  Butsu-
kudo stands  on  the  edge  of  a  double  lotus  pond,  whose
banks  in  May  are  bright  with  purple  irises.  Mirrored  in
its  quiet  waters,  stands  the  tall  and  graceful  Sanjunoto
Pagoda,  Figure  28.  This  splendid  structure,  some  115
feet  in  height,  is  not  only  remarkable  on  account  of  its

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great  age, —  dating  as  it  probably  does,  from  the  year
718  A.  D. —  but  to  architects  it  possesses  an  additional
attraction  and  one  well-nigh  unique.  For,  as  its  name
indicates,  it  is  composed  of  a  series  of  six  stories,  which
run  in  pairs.  In  each  case  the  uppermost  of  the  two  tiers
overreaches  the  lower,  lending  a  quaint  yet  far  from  un-
graceful effect  to  the  building,  as  a  whole.  Within  it
contains  a  painted  ceiling,  which  still  reveals  faint  traces
of  its  original  floral  decoration.  At  the  four  corners  of
the  central  dais  stand  painted-wood  images  of  the  Shi-
Tenno  or  "  Four  Heavenly  Kings."  These  guardians  of
the  four  points  of  the  compass,  protectors  of  devout
Buddhists,  are  commonly  installed  within  an  inner  gate
of  the  temple  precincts,  and  not  at  an  outer  portal,  as  is
invariably  the  case  with  the  two  ferocious  Ni-6,  Indra
and  Brahma.  With  the  gilt-wood  statuettes  of  Amida
ranged  about  them,  the  figures  date  perhaps  from  the
close  of  the  Ashikaga  Epoch  (i6th  century).
