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Last Update January 12, 2005
GORINTO / GORINTOU / GORINTOO
FIVE-TIER PAGODA, FIVE-ELEMENT STUPA (STELE)
Funerary Monuments Indigenous to Japan
Gravestone Memorials Indigenous to Japan
Funeral Urns, Grave Markers, Buddhist Votive Objects
Three-Element Stele, Hokyointo, Sekidou, Kasatouba
See Dosojin for Protective Stone Markers
See Ishidoro for Stone Lanterns & Memorial Markers
See Stones Top Menu for overview of all major categories.
Funerary Urns for Priest Meiken and Others
Excavated at Saihoji Site. Nanbokucho Era, 1336 - 1392 AD
Photo taken at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Museum in Kamakura
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 NOTE: This page relies heavily on the wonderful research of the Japanese Architecture & Art Net User System (JAANUS). A visit to their online dictionary is highly recommended. Much of their research on stone lanterns is reproduced below, with their permission. Thank you JAANUS. I would also like to thank Dr. Gabi Greve, a longtime Japan resident, for her assistance, research, and advise. This page is also accompanied by a Photo Tour of various gravestone styles.
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INTRODUCTION. Gorintou (Gorinto; 五輪塔) literally means five-ring pagoda. Also called Gorin (五輪), Gorinsekitou (五輪石塔), Houkaitou (法界塔), Gorintouba (五輪塔婆), or Gogedatsurin (五解脱輪). There are many English translations of gorintou, including five-tier tomb, five-element stele, five-wheel pagoda, five-ring tower or five-tier grave marker. Whatever you may call, it is made of five pieces of stone and serves as a grave marker or cenotaph erected for the repose of the departed. Although many older examples are found in Kyoto and Nara, those made during the Kamakura Period are the most beautiful, say experts on Gorinto. The height ranges from one to four meters. Considered indigenous to Japan and not found in other countries. Most of the existing Gorinto in Kamakura were made in the late Kamakura Period.
Each piece in the five-story pagoda (Sanskrit = stupa) corresponds to one of five elements. The bottom story is square and corresponds to the earth ring (Japanese = Chirin 地輪). Next is the spherical water ring (Japanese = Suirin 水輪), surmounted by the triangular ring of fire (Japanese = Karin 火輪). Above this is a reclining half-moon shape (Japanese = Fuurin 風輪), representing the wind, and topmost is the gem-shaped ring of space (Japanese = Kuurin 空輪).
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It is believed that the Gorintou was first adopted in the mid-Heian period by the esoteric Buddhist sects of Shingon 真言 and Tendai 天台. In Shingon Buddhism it embodied Dainichi Nyorai, the cosmic Buddha. Dainichi is the main deity of reverence among Shingon adherents, and the topmost piece of the five-element pagoda -- the space ring -- corresponds to Dainichi (see below diagram). The Gorintou also symbolized the Buddha and his teachings, the five directions of space (four cardinal directions and the zenith), the five major episodes in the life of the Historical Buddha (Gautama), the five Buddha of the current cycle (Skt. = Kalpa), the five elements, and a host of other groupings of five objects or ideas. Each story of the pagoda is usually inscribed with the Sanskrit character for the element represented. After the Heian period, the Gorintou was often used as a funerary monument. Most Gorintou are two to three meters high; the tallest example, at Iwashimizu Hachimanguu (岩清水八幡) is six meters high. Large examples are made of stone (Gorinsekitou 五輪石塔), while smaller ones are sometimes made from wood (Itagorintouba 板五輪塔婆), or clay (Nendogorintouba 粘土五輪塔婆), or metal (Kandourou 金灯篭).
These smaller stupas are used as votive offerings, and are often hand crafted by those who present them to the temple. The oldest known is the Chuusonji Gorintou, dated 1169. It can be seen at Chuusonji Shakuson-in 中尊寺釈尊院 in Iwate Prefecture. Sometimes parts of a Gorintou are used for decoration in a garden, and the spherical "water ring" and the trapezoidal "fire ring" sometimes serve as a handwash basin (Chouzubachi 手水鉢). An example of this type can be seen at Katsura Rikyuu 桂離宮 in Kyoto (Momoyama Period, 1568-1615). Sometimes a small-scale Gorintou made from a single block of stone (Issekikokusei Gorintou 一石刻成五輪塔) is also used in private gardens. <end quote from JAANUS>
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Above chart adapted from Ishidan
at http://sekitoh.hp.infoseek.co.jp/gorinntou.html
NOTES ON ABOVE CHART
Text courtesy of aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/g/gachirin.htm
- Chirin 地輪. Literally "earth ring," and the base piece of the lantern. Also called Dairin 台輪. It is often shaped like a cube with a lotus flower bottom. In this may be carved a hole for holding water for hand washing (example Raigouji 来迎寺).
- Suirin 水輪. Literally "water ring," the spherical second story of the five-story pagoda. The suirin of a five-story stone pagoda (gorin sekitou 五輪石塔) may also be used as a water basin (mitatemono chouzubachi 見立物手水鉢), specifically for teppatsugata chouzubachi 鉄鉢形手水鉢.
- 月輪 -- Gachirin, the Moon or Moon Disc
Also called Gatsurin or Getsurin. A perfectly round circle meant to represent the full moon, a frequently used symbol in Buddhist painting and sculpture. It represents the Buddha's knowledge and virtue which are considered perfect and all-encompassing. It also symbolizes the aspirations of sentient beings to attain Buddhahood. In the Kongoukai Mandara 金剛界曼荼羅 of Esoteric Buddhism, for example, each of the nine divinities is shown seated in the circle of a full moon. The Gachirin is also the chief attribute of Gakkou (Gekko) Bosatsu, who is often shown in statues and paintings wearing a headpiece representing the moon or holding a circular form in the palm of his hand.
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Deities of the Elements
GROUP ONE -- Esoteric Buddhism
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SANSKRIT
Vairocana
Space/Center/Zenith
Akshobhya
Air / Wind / East
Ratnasambhava
Fire / South
Amitabha
Water / West
Amoghasiddhi
Earth / North
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JAPANESE
Dainichi Nyorai
Space/Center/Zenith
Ashuku Nyorai
Air / Wind / East
Hosho Nyorai
Fire / South
Amida Nyorai
Water / West
Fukujoju Nyorai
Earth / North
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NOTES ON GROUP ONE
- These Five Buddhas are known as the Five Jina, or the Five Tathagata, or the Godai Nyorai, a grouping especially important to the Shingon Sect. In artwork, the five appear most frequently on the mandalas of Japan's Esoteric Buddhist sects. In ancient India, stupas were thought to be derived from funerary tumuli and only later to have become commemorative monuments specific to Buddhism, yet it appears that the images of the Jinas were only added late to the directional sides of stupas. For esoteric sects, these Five Jinas represent the essential symbols of the Law (Dharma), and were subsequently identified with all the groups of five objects or ideas, such as the five historical Buddhas, the five senses, the five aggregates, the five cardinal points, the five virtues, the five sins, etc. <source Flammarion Iconographic Guide, p. 125; see bibliography for citation).
- FIVE ELEMENTS, CHINA. In China, the theory of five elements (or energies) began with a different set of concepts. Called wu hsing (五行) in Chinese, the theory's first celebrated exponent was Tsou Yen (350 - 270 BC). The five energies were symbolized as (1) wood, which as fuel gives rise to (2) fire, which creates ash and gives rise to (3) earth, which in its mines contains (4) metal, which (as on the surface of a metal mirror) attracts dew and so gives rise to (5) water, and this in turn nourishes (1) wood. This is called hsiang sheng (相生), or the "mutually arising" order of the forces. These forces were also arranged in the order of "mutual conquest" (相勝) -- likewise read hsiang sheng, but sheng is a different ideogram -- in which (1) wood, in the form of a plow, overcomes (2) earth, which, by damming and constraint, conquers (3) water which, by quenching, overcomes (4) fire which, by melting, liquifies (5) metal, which, in turn, cuts (1) wood. <quoted from "TAO, The Watercourse Way" by Alan Watts>
- The five elements also correspond to the five parts of the body: hips (yellow), navel (white), heart (red), between the eyebrows (dark, black, or blue), and the top of the skull (bright). <source Flammarion Iconographic Guide, p. 311).
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Deities of the Elements
GROUP TWO -- Diamond (Kongokai) Mandala
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SHINTO
風神 Fuujin
God of Wind
火神 Kajin
God of Fire
水神 Suijin
God of Water
地神 Chijin
God of Earth
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BUDDHIST
風天 Fuuten
God of Wind
火天 Katen
God of Fire
水天 Suiten
God of Water
地天 Chiten
God of Earth
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Gilt bronze Hokyointo three-tier stele, discovered in excavations at Oku no In (奥之院; near Koyasan Monestary; see Ishidoro page) during the late Meiji Era. The Sanskrit seed words for each of the Four Diamond Protectors (of the Kongokai Mandala, or Diamond World Mandala; see NOTES below) are engraved on the four directional sides of the stele. The foundation stone is engraved with a memorial message that is dated 1287 AD.
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NOTES ON GROUP TWO
In the Diamond World Mandala (Kongookai Mandala 金剛界曼荼羅) of Shingon Buddhism, one finds mention of Four Diamond Protectors 四執金剛. These four are also known as the Four Great Gods (Shi no Ookami 四大神). According to Dr. Gabi Greve, each of the four has a female counterpart, a sort of heavenly princess (KI, 妃). The JIN reading signifies a deity of Japanese origin and Shinto associations, while the TEN reading refers to deities of Indian origin and Buddhist associations. The term TEN is translated in English as DEVA, and the above four deities are members of the 12 Deva Guardians of Buddhist tradition. In a purely Japanese context, the Shinto (JIN) names may also be read in a third different way. For example, Suijin may be read as Mizu no Kamisama, and Kajin may be read as Hi no Kamisama.
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Gravestones at Koyasan.
Photo by Dr. Gavi Greve
Along the approach to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum at Kongobuji (Mt. Koya) are some 300,000 tombstones, including those of historically important figures, such as Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen, both feudal warlords from the Sengoku Period (1467-1568). The tallest tombstone is 10 meters high, and marks the grave built for the wife of Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), the second Tokugawa shogun. See Ishidoro page for more on Koyasan (Kongobuji).
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 HOKYO-INTO (HOUKYOU-INTOU)
宝篋印塔 ほうきょういんとう
Three-Element Stele
Text Courtesy Tadahiro Kondo
If Gorintou translates as five-element stele, then Hokyo-into should be called a three-element stele, representing, from the bottom, the earth, water and fire. In the middle is a square cube, and on each surface, an image of the Lord Buddha is often engraved. Like Gorinto, this was erected mostly as a cenotaph and partly as a tomb. Generally, all stones of the Hokyo-into are squarely cut and the overall structure consists of the footing, body, umbrella and ornamental top. An-you-in Temple has the oldest one in the Kanto area behind its main hall. <end quote by Tadahiro Kondo>
HOKYO-INTO - Three-Tier Stupa (Text courtesy JAANUS)
A type of pagoda (Skt. = Stupa) originally made as a repository for copies of the Houkyouin Darani Sutra 宝筺印陀羅尼. In the Heian period houkyouintou were made of gilt bronze or wood, but by the Kamakura period these pagodas were usually made of stone and used as funerary markers. The distinctive rectangular shape of the houkyouintou has a low, rectangular foundation, kiso 基礎, surmounted by a square body, toushin 塔身, which often bears an image of the Buddha or a Sanskrit syllable.
The top story or "umbrella" (kasa 笠) is a stepped pyramid with wing-like decoration at the four corners. Above this an inverted bowl shape (fukubachi 伏鉢) supports a ring of lotus petals, (ukebana 請花). Nine rings (kurin 九輪) form the shaft (sourin 相輪), which supports another lotus petal ring and finally, a jewel-shaped form called a houju 宝珠 sits atop the structure. The parts from the fukubachi to the houju are all circular, the other members of the houkyouintou are square. The podium itself is sometimes decorated with a foliated form (kouzama 格狭間) that resembles a side view of a molding, while the lower half resembles the outline of a bowl. The body of the pagoda has either carvings of the Buddha on each side or sanskrit letters. However, undecorated pagoda bodies also exist, and the stepped coping may have moldings carved on the undersides. Examples: 1259 AD, Nara Arisatochou 有里町; Enfukuji Houkyouintou 円福寺宝篋印塔, Linji Houkyouintou 為因寺宝篋印塔 1265, Kyoto, 1293 Nara. <end quote JAANUS>
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Sekidou 石幢
 Literally "stone flag." A type of stone pagoda with a hexagonal or octagonal base, a banner-shaped shaft (doushin 幢身), a niche, a coping stone shaped like a roof and one or more onion-shaped decorative jewels (houju 宝珠) on top. Some sekidou have no base so that section is inserted directly into the ground. Sanskrit letters and/or Buddhist images are carved on each side of the shaft. Some sekidou have octagonal or hexagonal shafts. Many have only a shaft and roof. Sometimes they resemble stone lanterns without a light box. According to some scholars, sekidou probably evolved from kasatouba (笠塔婆; see entry below). The oldest extant date from the Kamakura period (1185-1333), but many were made in the late 14th century and after.
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Houju 宝珠
Also pronounced houshu. A sacred gem. Usually a ball or tear-drop shape object that is sacred to Buddhism. It is believed to have the power to expel evil, cleanse corruption, and fulfill wishes. (Related term is nyoihouju 如意宝珠.) The term giboshi or giboushu (擬宝珠) is often used to refer to the hoju shape reproduced as an architectural decoration. This shape is used on the top of a pagoda (sourin 相輪), on the top of a pyramidal roof (hougyouzukuri 方形造) of a Buddhist hall (endou 円堂), on a stone lantern (ishidourou 石灯籠), or on the sculptured head of railing pillars. Houju-shaped pillar heads are called houjugashira (宝珠頭); pillars topped with a houju are called houjubashira (宝珠柱) or giboshibashira (擬宝珠柱); and railings with this type of pillar are called giboshikouran (擬宝珠勾欄). The houju on pagodas and Buddhist halls are usually made of bronze and often decorated with flame designs. The houju with flames rising from it is called kaenhouju (火炎宝珠). When used as a decoration for a lantern, the tip of the ball may be sharply pointed or gently rounded depending on the date of the lantern's production, and may be supported by a lotus-petal form (ukebana 請花). Generally, the earlier houju have more gentle points and are rounder in form. The tip becomes more sharply pointed and the form more square-shaped in the Momoyama period (last quarter of the 16th century). A houju with a lotus petal base is found as an attribute (jimotsu 持物) of Buddhist figures such as Jizou Bosatsu and Kokuuzou Bosatsu and Kichijouten, as seen on the 9th-century Jizou Bosatsu in Kouryuuji (広隆寺) in Kyoto.
 
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Kasatouba 笠塔婆
Also called kasasotouba 笠卒都婆. A memorial or grave stone. The most common has a square shaft (toushin 塔身) placed on a roughly hewed base stone. A pyramidal-like coping stone (kasa 笠) at the top suggests a roof. On top of the coping or between the coping and top ornament is an jewel shape (houju 宝珠) or bowl shape. Example: Ryuumonji 竜門寺 1335, in Nara. Inscriptions in Sanskrit letters may be carved into the shaft, or Buddhist dieties may be rendered in low relief on the upper part. The upper part is called butsugan kasatouba (仏龕笠塔婆) and may have solid stone wheels set vertically within the shaft so that the devout can turn the stone while reciting invocatory prayers. An example of this type is found at Akagi Jjinja 赤城神社, 1490, in Gunma Prefecture. It has six Jizou (Roku Jizou 六地蔵) figures carved into it.
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GLOSSARY OF KEY WORDS
Not inclusive. See above text for more words & definitions.
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Japanese
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Hiragana
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English
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五輪塔
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ごりんとう
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Gorintou (Five-Tier Pagoda or Stupa). See above for details and images.
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笠塔婆
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かさとうば
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Kasatouba (Memorial or Grave Stone). See above for details and image.
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石幢
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せきどう
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Sekidou (Stone Flag). See above for details and image.
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宝篋印塔
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ほうきょう
いんとう
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Hookyoo into (Three-Tier Pagoda). See above for details and image.
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燈燭
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とうしょく
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Toushoku (Funeral Lanterns)
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見立物手水鉢
Description
courtesy
JAANUS
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みたてものちょうずばち
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Mitatemono Chouzubachi. Literally "re-used-object" water basins. A type of water basin (chouzubachi 手水鉢) made from a stone which previously had served a different function. Typically parts from old stone pagodas (sekitou 石塔), temple foundation stones (garanseki 伽藍石) or stone bridges are used. Also called riyoumono chouzubachi 利用物手水鉢 or "functional object water basins," they are used for both tsukubai 蹲踞 and hachimae-no-ishigumi 鉢前の石組. Common mitatemono chouzubachi types include the kesagata 袈裟形 or "surplice shape" which uses the central part of a treasure pagoda (houtou 宝塔); water basins like wakutamagata 湧玉形 made from a section of a five-ring pagoda; the umegae 梅が枝 or "plum branch" from the lid of an old tomb; the kasagata 笠形 or "umbrella shape" made from the stone of a stone pagoda, and the shihoubutsu 四方仏. Mitatemono chouzubachi are contrasted with natural stone water basins, shizenseki chouzubachi 自然石手水鉢.
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塔身
Description
courtesy
JAANUS
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とうしん
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Toushin. The framework of a pagoda (tou 塔), excluding the roof (yane 屋根) and eaves (noki 軒). The term also applies to the body of stone pagodas, excluding the roof and base.
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石幢形石灯籠
Description
courtesy
JAANUS
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せきどうがたいしどうろう
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Sekidougata Ishidourou. A type of stone lantern (ishidourou 石灯籠). Shaped like a Buddhist memorial (sekidou 石幢), it has a hexagonal or octagonal base with a faceted pillar on it. On top of the pillar is the fire box, topped with canopy and sacred jewel, common to most stone lanterns. The special characteristic of the sekidougata ishidourou are the Six Buddhas carved in relief on each face of the fire box. Originally derived from the sekidou, a monument displaying Buddhist relief carvings, it is thought that the fire hole was carved out to adapt the monument to function as a lantern.
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Five-Tier Pagoda at Kofukuji Temple in Nara
Photo by Bernhard Scheid
See Bernhard's Pagoda Photo Tour Here
Pagoda Chart
from Kodansha Encylodedia of Japan, 1983
無縁仏 MUEN BOTOKE
People who die leaving no one to attend to their grave; a spirit with no link (縁, en) to the living; wandering spirits; the unknown dead; forgotten souls. Some Japanese fear a time will come when no one will be left to attend to the family grave or remember to honor the departed family member with visits and gifts. In Japanese terms, this is the fear of becoming a muen botoke (a spirit with no link to the living; a dead person without living relatives). In order to dispel the fear of becoming a muen botoke, some living Japanese people go to Isshin Temple in Osaka (Pure Land tradition). This temple still practices the little-known kotsubotoke method -- the practice of pulverizing the cremated bones of departed humans and using the bone powder to construct Buddhist images. Some people are attracted to this idea, and at Isshin Temple, they "will" their bones for this purpose.
LEARN MORE
- PHOTO TOUR OF GORINTOU / GRAVE STONES IN JAPAN
- JAANUS. Outside site.
Japanese Architecture & Art Net User System. Highly recommended.
- Dosojin (Protective Stone Markers)
- Magaibutsu (Buddhist Images Carved on Cliffs)
- Sekibutsu (Free-standing Buddhist Images Carved in Stone)
- Ishidoro, Japanese Stone Lanterns
- Japanese-language links to Dosojin Stone Markers.
Numerous photo tours of stone markers nationwide.
- Photo Galleries (Outside Sites)
KOYASAN, 高野山, KONGOBUJI TEMPLE
Stone gravestones and lanterns at Koyasan
http://inoues.net/club/okunoin.html
Takes a while to load, but the many photos give you a good impression of the walk in the woods along the path to the Hall of Lanterns and Oku no In at Koyasan Monestary.
GETTING HOLY IN WAKAYAMA
Japan Times Story (Dec. 10, 2004) by Mariko Yasumoto
www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fv20041210a1.htm
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