There are still more riddles to Hôryûji, and still other theories
about the riddles we have examined. It is very doubtful that any complete
explanation will ever be found. But at the very least we can conclude that
the basic pattern is a complex interweaving of Buddhist religious themes
with the personal worship of Japan’s greatest cultural hero, Prince Shôtoku.
While Buddhism was clearly transforming Japan, the Japanese in rebuilding
Hôryûji had already begun to transform Buddhism, adapting it
in subtle but numerous ways to their own history and beliefs.