Japanese Five Storied Pagoda Ornament

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Japanese Five Storied Pagoda Ornaments - Glass

Using a centuries old process developed in Eastern Europe, the Five Storied Japanese Pagoda is magnificently reproduced as a glass Christmas ornament.

Five-Storied Pagodas can be found in tea gardens around the world, one of the most notable being the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Founded in 1895 and lovingly maintained by Makato Hagiwara and his son, this Tea Garden is one of the few pristine and sacred places in San Francisco where one can watch the rocks grow.

Each Japanese Christmas ornament is constructed of molten glass hand-blown into a mold. Once the glass is shaped, it is then silvered. Silvering helps to create a reflective property and depth of color in the ornament. After the Japanese ornaments are dry, they are then decorated. Each of these Landmark Creations ornaments is hand-painted. The painting process can take up to one week for a single Japanese Pagoda ornament. As they are individually hand-painted, you are guaranteed to receive a unique ornament, since no two will look exactly the same.

We are proud to offer you these Japanese Christmas ornaments and we are sure they will be cherished in your family for generations.

Measures 6" Tall

History of the Pagoda: How is it that, over the past 1,400 years, only two Japanese pagodas have been known to topple in an earthquake? The mystery is unraveled when one discovers how these towers can "dance" in harmony with nature's forces: their distinctive tiers are not actually attached to one another! Each story has its own set of load-bearing pillars, allowing all the floors to move independently. A stout cypress trunk, or Shinbashira, runs loosely down the pagoda's center and keeps the floors from sliding too far. Heavy tiled roofs help maintain balance, in the same way as a tightrope walker's pole. There are many pagodas in Japan, particularly in Kyoto and Nara, the country's former religious centers. Some claim the pagoda's architecture is original to Japan. However, as Buddhism was introduced from China to Japan, it is more likely that so too were the pagodas.

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