PAGO'DA (Sp. pagoda, from Pers. butkadah, idol temple, pagoda. from but. idol + kadah, temple: Chinese, pch-kuh-Pa, poll-kith-1'a, white bone tower. pao-t'a. precious tower, Fa, tower. pile). A temple of Eastern Asia, or part of a temple. and generally a tower-like mass of many stories. As the term is European and applied to a non-European building, and as it is in careless popular use without exact significance, it can he said only that the idea generally conveyed by it is that of an Eastern religious tower. Thus an accurate writer describing Buddhist temples in Japan will speak of the bondo or temple proper, the gateway building, and the pagoda; but the word 'pagoda' is not Japanese. These buildings in Japan are always of wood.
In the magnificent stone-built Buddhist tem ples of India the pagoda is generally a pyramidal structure raised above a gateway, or above the inner sanctuary: just as in a Christian church there may be a tower at the west end, or one over the crossing, or both. These Indian pagodas are among the most splendid buildings of pure monu mental design in the world. The term is also ap
plied to the tope or stupa; but this is clearly unnecessary and should be avoided. See TOPE.
In China a pagoda is often a memorial build ing and not connected with a temple or a mon astery. The most common form is an octagonal tower of many stories, with curved roof, and a piece of roof like that of a veranda surrounding each story. Most Chinese pagodas are built of brick, with no very great architectural preten sion, but they are effective in outlines, and their great number in certain parts of the Empire adds a peculiar charm to the landscape. But little archeological and critical study has been given to them (see CHINESE ART), and the books of recent travelers illustrated with specially taken photographs have added very greatly to our understanding of the great number and variety of them which exist in many of the provinces. Consult the authorities mentioned under CHINESE ART.