Pagoda (from the 84,000 pagodas of Qian Hongchu)

Qian Hongchu (929–988), known for his fervent protection of Buddhism, was the last king of the Chinese Wuyue state, centered in Hangzhou and covering modern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejian. Taking his cues from the ancient Indian king Aśoka (304–232 B.C.E.), Qian Hongchu had 84,000 miniature pagodas made of which this is one. Of the 84,000 pagodas, quite a number were brought to Japan as trade items; some known examples were transmitted at the temples Kontai-ji in Kyoto and Seigan-ji in Fukuoka, while others have been excavated on the temple precincts of Mount Ōmine in Nara and from the Nachikyō-zuka tomb in Wakayama.
While a few of these pagodas are made of iron, the great majority of are bronze. This piece is no exception; the pagoda shape consists four standardized cast-bronze plates for walls and a roof-lid from which mullions and a stackedring finial (sōrin) rise up. The outer sides of the pagoda have relief figures of the jātaka (narratives on the former lives of Buddha), seated Buddhas, and heavenly devas. The inner surfaces bear an incised inscription “King of Wuyue, Qian Hongchu, had 84,000 pagodas made; recorded in the year 955,” as well as what is thought to be code symbols: a relief character for “small,” and an intaglio character for “peace.” Inside the pagoda, it is equipped with hooks, presumably for hanging a sutra.
Since this piece comes with a Qing-period storage box and a stand dated 1842 (Daoguang 22), it is thought to have been brought to Japan in the late Edo or modern era. Compared with the pagodas transmitted in various parts of Japan, it is in remarkably good condition, but the welding at the four corners is relatively new, and instead of having the standard single hook inside, there are two, suggesting it might have been reconstructed out of salvaged parts of damaged pagodas that were disassembled.