Elemental Pagoda

I recently returned from my first trip to Japan where I enjoyed being sated by new sights, smells and sounds. (Below is a shot of the pagoda at the Senso-ji temple in Asakusa.) One highlight was the Tokyo National Museum where I learned why pagodas have five levels – it’s elemental!

Elements feature in the first class of my introductory chemistry courses. We discuss the evolution of thought that led to modern atomic theory, highlighting the almost two millennia digression of Aristotle’s influence in championing the classical four elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire. Occasionally I relate this to the Platonic Solids, in itself an interesting side tale. Sometimes my students read a section of De Rerum Natura by Lucretius expounding that everything is simply Atoms and Void. But mostly I try to impress upon the students why atomic theory is a strange idea: Why would you think that all matter is made up of tiny discrete things you cannot see or sense directly? Aristotle won then, but Lucretius has had the last laugh. Before even taking my course, all my students already believe in the existence of atoms and the void.

The Japanese pagoda is interesting by seemingly blending ideas from both Lucretius and Aristotle, although it’s unclear what, if any, influence Greek ideas had on early Japanese ideas. The museum placards did not delve into the details, simply mentioning that the five levels relate to the five elements earth, water, fire, air, and void. Further internet browsing led me to this interesting website, where I learned that the gorintou (five-ring pagoda) is associated with the five elements. I recommend reading the website for more details; here are just a couple of my thoughts based on the picture below.

The order is interesting. The base is Earth, perhaps not surprising. There seems something foundational, perhaps earthy, about earth. Water is next. Rivers and lakes have a bottom made of earth, so earth supports water. Interestingly, Fire comes next, rather than Wind. I’d speculate that if the Greeks had a hierarchical tower, that Fire would be on top and Air (the equivalent of Wind) would be below. Void is the highest level in the gorintou. It seems to have connotations of space, ether, or out-there-ness. Is Void elemental in the same way as the other four? That’s also unclear.

The shapes are also interesting. The Platonic cube of Greek philosophy is similar to the gorintou cube. Cubes pack well. Earthy, perhaps. Water is a sphere, it rolls and flows. The Greek equivalent icosahedron may act similarly. Fire is triangular or pyramid-shaped in the gorintou, which is akin to the tetrahedron in Greek thought. Pointy and poky. It burns! On the other hand, there seems no correspondence between the half-moon of Wind and the octahedron of Air. I think it’s cool that the Void is designated a jewel-shape, although I don’t understand its significance. I can’t say I understand the others either; I’ve simply speculated.

In the Tokyo museum, I saw a few requilaries, containers containing relics, in the shape of a five-level pagoda. The ancient artifacts section also had five-level stupas, common in various parts of Asia. (Here’s one of my pictures below from the museum.) I hadn’t noticed the gorintou shapes until after reading the website explaining them, at which point my temple and shrine sightseeing had ended. But now I know what to look for, the next time I visit historical sites in Asia.