Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/608

 498 JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE. BOOK IX.
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be found all the features of the Japanese style such as still form the leading character- istics of the later temples and other structures. The pagoda at Horiuji has five storeys, each one set back slightly below the one below. All have widely projecting eaves, carried on brackets and an external gallery. It is raised on a stone base 4 to 5 ft. high, with terrace and verandah round. The crown- ing feature is a lofty finial with metal rings round, on which bells are hung, and through this finial and from its summit is suspended an immense beam. In the older examples the foot of this beam rests on the stone floor of the pagoda, as it does at Horiuji, but in more modern examples there is a space left in order to allow of the shrinkage of the timbers of the several storeys, the object of this beam being to tie together the framing of these storeys. These beams are kept in posi- tion by framework round them at intervals, but are attached only to the finials. ; The central beam at Horiuji is 100 ft. long, 3 ft. square at the bottom and 9 in. at the top. In order to support the timber plates carrying the widely projecting eaves, and more especially at the angles, flying timbers similar to the framing inside are carried down, and the ends of these are left as decorative features on which bells are suspended.