Keywords
Architecture
General Terms
Lit. "pagoda finial." The vertical shaft which protrudes from the top of a pagoda. The sōrin, whether made of bronze and placed above a wooden pagoda or carved into a stone pagoda *sekitō 石塔, is usually divided into several component parts. At the base are the dew basin *roban 露盤, and the inverted bowl *fukubachi 伏鉢; next are the nine rings *kurin 九輪 surmounted by the water flame *suien 水煙; above that is the dragon wheel *ryūsha 竜車 (not found on sekitō) topped with the sacred gem *hōju 宝珠.
