Tōdaiji

The original structures at Nara’s Tōdaiji dated to the eighth century and included a pair of 300-foot pagodas which were subsequently destroyed in an earthquake. A wooden model inside the Great Buddha Hall shows the original temple structures, including the pagodas, all built to scale: Although not as impressive as the original pagodas, the golden reconstructions hearken back to the Indian Buddhist stupas from which pagoda architecture evolved upon its arrival in China and then Japan.