West Five-Story Pagoda

Hwaeomsa Temple
Jirisan National Park, Korea

The west pagoda (previous page) dates to the Unified Silla period, late 9th century. It is decorated with guardians and, on the base, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, arranged three to a side. The animals are obscured by the fence in this photo, but they are hard to make out in any case due to erosion.

There is a companion East Pagoda (later page), in front of the Daeungjeon, that is undecorated.