Kinkaku-ji

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kinkaku-ji from across the water

Kinkaku-ji (Japanese: 金閣寺,, Kinkaku-ji^? Golden Pavilion Temple) is the informal name of Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺, Deer Garden Temple) in Kyoto, Japan, the Pavilion being the main attraction of the temple grounds. The Golden Pavilion (formally called 'Shariden') was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down several times during the Ōnin War. Yoshimitsu's grandson used Kinkaku-ji as the inspiration for Ginkaku-ji, a Buddhist temple, which he intended to cover in silver.

The entire pavilion except the basement floor is covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha. On the roof of the pavilion is a golden fenghuang or "Chinese phoenix".

In 1950, the temple was burned down by a mentally disturbed monk; a fictionalized version of the events is at the center of Yukio Mishima's 1956 book The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. The present structure dates from 1955. Recently, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed and a new coating as well as gilding with gold-leaf, much thicker than the original coatings was completed in 1987. Additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings were also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in 2003.

The land where the Golden Pavilion sits was used in the 1220s as a villa for Kintsune Saionji. The pond near the Golden Pavilion is called Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond).

Temple of the Golden Pavilion	Kinkaku-ji, the Gold Pavilion	Gardens at the Kinkaku-ji	Kinkakuji during the Winter
A closeup of the Pavilion	Kinkaku-ji in July	Kinkaku-ji in August