Japanese spiritual architecture, Hakamagoshi Shoro

In a Japanese Buddhist temple you will always find at least one shōrō ("bell tower"). There are two types of such towers, the more recent constructions are usually simple structures holding the bell, but the older ones are truly spectacular pieces of spiritual architecture.

In today's photo you can see the oldest type of shōrō, a tower with two stories from the Taiyuin Mausoleum in Nikko. The bell is located at the top floor, while the lower part of the building is a stone wall designed like a skirt, or more precisely like a hakama... hence the name of this type of architecture, hakamagoshi.