Pyramid tops pagoda
The restoration of an earthen Buddhist pagoda dating back to the Nara period (710-784) has been completed at the Onodera Ruins in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. The 13-layer pagoda, which is 53 meters square and nine meters tall, features a pyramidlike structure that is partially covered with 50,000 gray and brown tiles. The Sakai municipal government restored 12 of the 13 layers of the pagoda remains excavated from the ruins of the temple, which is said to have been built by high priest Gyokai (668-749).
Heritage of Japan 