• Journal of architectural history
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.35-44
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to identify the aspect of expression about the form of Shwedagon Pagoda as well as to find out its meanings. The aesthetic value of Shwedagon Pagoda appears as the worship and infinite respect to Buddha realizing its beautiful sacred symbol. The meaning of Shwedagon Pagoda is to progress in keeping pace with the specific flexibility of Buddhism in Myanmar developing Buddhistic diversity and accepting its active changes. As time passes, Shwedagon Pagoda has been transformed. It is because that Myanmar's architecture was developed independently being affected by India with the introduction of Buddhism, and accepted it through autonomous reinterpretation. Then, the function of the worship space surrounding Shwedagon was extended and its annexes and statues of the Buddha were built; its scale became larger. This study shows the comparison between Shwezigon Pagoda and Shwedagon Pagoda. This method of investigation reveals that the formal changes of Shwedagon makes it transform to concise composition and develop aesthetical component giving the sense of vertical rise.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.75-86
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• 2016

This paper examines the pagodas during the Bagan period, which are thought to be most valuable among those in Myanmar. They have not been sufficiently studied, in spite of their high Buddhist status. It considers the contemplation of Pato, their formal characteristics in the Bagan period and the formal categorizations of pagodas in the same period. Thus, following seven kinds of conclusions are derived: first, researchers provide opinions to the Pato which should be regarded as the Buddhist shrine-type of pagoda with a unique Bagan form, symbolically indicating that Theravada Buddhism incorporated Hinduism; second, the terraces were characteristic components in pagodas, during the Bagan period, which were built after the enthronement of King Anawratha and are thought to symbolically express the wish to widely spread Theravada Buddhism; third, Shwesandaw Zedi seems to affect not only Shwezigon Zedi, a representative standard form of pagoda in Myanmar, but also Ananda Pato; fourth, it is thought to be proper to examine the terraces by classifying them into lower, central(from pedestals to Angryeon and Bokryeon) and upper part, if it intends to divide a pagoda with bell-shaped body on the terraces during the Bagan period, into three parts; fifth, the Pato may be identified as a form of pagoda during the Bagan period, and such a form can be classified as that of Sikhara on the rectangular terrace; sixth, forms of Myanmar's pagodas can be classified into fourteen kinds of them, and they may be also grouped into transmitted, general and special type; and seventh, on the basis of the findings, it is thought that the pagodas during the Bagan period may be classified into six forms, and they can be largely categorized into transmitted, general and special type.