Horyuji

Horyuji was built in the seventh century and is located at Nara prefecture. It is deeply associated with Shotoku Taishi, one of the most famous historical figure in Japan. And a part of it is the world's most oldest wooden architecture. 

Its most popular attraction is the five-storied pagoda, seen in the right side of above photograph. And the structure means five elements of our world: earth, water, fire, wind, and air, from the bottom. That is a buddhistic vision of the universe.

Horyuji is, in a sense, a showcase of buddhist art and was registered on Unesco's World Heritage List in 1993. It has experienced several times of repairs, and the last one has finished in  1985. The five-storied pagoda has been standing through many earth quakes over 1300 years. 
The secret of the ability to resist earthquake is in its structure. This ancient wooden structure employs flexible structure for absorbing the shock of earthquake. This idea has been  used  in modern high-rise buildings and it is very typical of Japanese culture, I think.