This pagoda, that later became known as Hon-mito, was constructed during the lifetime of the retired emperor (tonsured and became a cloistered emperor in 1142) to serve as his tomb following his death that came in 1156.
後に本御塔（ほんみとう）と呼ばれるこの塔は上皇が寿陵（生前に造る墓）として造らせたものであり、上皇（康治元年・1142年に落飾して法皇となる）が保元元年（1156年）に没した際にはこの本御塔が墓所とされている。