Of the hundreds of pagoda’s in Japan only two in the last 1400 years are known to have fallen down in one of the most earthquake prone areas of the world. The Toji pagoda in Kyoto is 55m tall and it was only in 1968 that one office block was erected in Japan that was taller and yet when the Kyoto earthquake of 1995 hit office blocks and highways were destroyed, and the Toji pagoda survived unscathed. How do these pagodas resist earthquakes so well?
strangely, the individual floors of a pagoda are not rigidly attached to those immediately above and below. They are simply stacked on top of one another like a pile of hats. The only force holding them together is gravity. Meanwhile, their loosely fitted joints allow each storey to slide horizontally independently of the others. (via)
Pagoda Engineering
Of the hundreds of pagoda’s in Japan only two in the last 1400 years are known to have fallen down in one of the most earthquake prone areas of the world. The Toji pagoda in Kyoto is 55m tall and it was only in 1968 that one office block was erected in Japan that was taller and yet when the Kyoto earthquake of 1995 hit office blocks and highways were destroyed, and the Toji pagoda survived unscathed. How do these pagodas resist earthquakes so well?