Godai

The godai are five elements.

These elements are represented in ascending order of power Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and the last one is Void when referring to the elements, but can mean sky in most other contexts, and therefore sometimes is translated as "Heaven".

Sometimes a sixth element is added, representing Consciousness.

The most common representations today of the five elements are found in Buddhist architecture. Many pagodas in Japan are of the Gojū-no-Tō style, meaning they have five tiers or levels. Each tier, naturally, represents one of the elements.

Glossary