Photo/Illutration The three-storied pagoda stands in the precincts of Hokiji Temple. This 24-meter-tall piece of art is distinguished by being the oldest of its kind in Japan, dating back to the 8th century. (Photo by Lisa Vogt)

Wow, I never imagined I’d have a UNESCO World Heritage Site all to myself, but yes, indeed, I did.

Horyuji Temple and its inner precincts and surroundings, including Hokiji Temple, were registered as Japan’s first World Heritage Site in 1993. Until the temple added this prestigious title to its list of distinctions, the name was Hokkiji Temple and not Hokiji Temple.

When reading romaji aloud, the double consonant “kk” in the middle signals that you must insert a pause (a small "tsu" character). The kanji remain the same, but why change the pronunciation? It was decided that since the temple is under Horyuji’s jurisdiction, the first “hou” should sound similar, and to make this happen, the double consonant was removed.

Unlike Horyuji, which is on every tourist’s list to visit when in Nara, Hokiji has a different vibe. It’s seemingly in the middle of nowhere along a nondescript road. The confines are quite decayed, but not necessarily in a bad way. If I hadn’t seen the small sign in front of the gate, I would not have believed this was a World Heritage Site. And there was hardly a soul to be found.

Hokiji is considered one of the seven great temples founded by Prince Shotoku although tradition says that it was his son, Yamashiro-no-Oe, who established the temple to honor his father’s dying wish. It was on this site, formally Okamoto-no-Miya Palace before being converted to a temple, that Prince Shotoku lectured on the Lotus Sutra.

It has the oldest three-storied pagoda in Japan, built in the year 706 and still majestic and graceful. How is it that it’s still standing in such a seismically active country after more than 1,300 years — when most wooden homes in Japan, like mine, are bound to go kaput in three to four decades?

The answer lies in the shinbashira, the central pillar at the core of the pagoda, and the way the timbers are fastened together by inserting thinner and narrower ends into slots instead of using nails. Box-like structures are laid on top of one another like a multitiered jubako box, hence san-ju-no-to, a three-storied pagoda. When an earthquake strikes, the wood surfaces on the joints twist and slide against each other, and like a yajirobe balancing toy, the structure dances.

Through the years, the temple has repeatedly seen good and bad times. For those who do not care for immaculately maintained, crowded, touristy places, Hokiji Temple is for you.

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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the April 2 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series “Lisa’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan,” which depicts various sites of outstanding universal value across the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Aoyama-gakuin University.

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