The Yakushi-ji Temple built in Nara, in about 680 AD is one of the seven great Buddhist temples in Japan. the Hosso Sect of Japanese Buddhism and was dedicated to the Medicine Buddha. Originally two great pagodas stood at the east entry to the temple complex. Like all stupas, the pagoda was an architectural embodiment of the Buddha which sits on the first floor with its crown at the topmost roof. The structure is based on a square plan symbolizing the body.
The pagoda appears to have six stories due to the intermediate pent roofs, but there are actually three which represent the 3 main divisions of the Universe in Buddhist Cosmology: The World of Desire, The World of Form and the Formless Worlds.
A wooden mast sits in the center, the spine of the Buddha connecting heaven and earth Above the highest roof this extends having 9 rings, the number of steps to enlightenment in the higher planes. Above this the sacred Jewel representing Enlightenment.
Overlaid on the Buddha is the star pentagram, the geometry of perfected being, which establishes the golden Ø proportions of the building and of the Buddhas 3 Bodies (Trikaya).