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[[Shogun]] Ashikaga Yoshimitsu practiced ''[[zazen]]'' (seated meditation), and considered taking the tonsure later in life; in [[1382]], he attended a ceremony led by [[Muso Soseki|Musô Soseki]], and spoke to figures such as Shun'oku Myôha and Gidô Shûshin about establishing a temple. At their suggestion, he named it Jôten Shôkokuji, after a Chinese temple with the same name. The temple was constructed over the period of 1382-[[1392]], and burned down completely two years later.

[[Shogun]] Ashikaga Yoshimitsu practiced ''[[zazen]]'' (seated meditation), and considered taking the tonsure later in life; in [[1382]], he attended a ceremony led by [[Muso Soseki|Musô Soseki]], and spoke to figures such as Shun'oku Myôha and Gidô Shûshin about establishing a temple. At their suggestion, he named it Jôten Shôkokuji, after a Chinese temple with the same name. The temple was constructed over the period of 1382-[[1392]], and burned down completely two years later.

Rebuilding began almost immediately, and construction began as well in [[1399]] on a seven-tiered 110-meter pagoda which upon completion was the tallest in Japan. This was destroyed by lightning shortly afterwards, however.<ref name=asahi>Tomoyoshi Kubo, "[http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201607090039.html Artifact may be from long-lost pagoda, tallest ever built]," ''Asahi Shimbun'', 9 July 2016.</ref> After some further unfortunate incidents with lightning striking and destroying other newly rebuilt structures, the temple once again resembled its original form by [[1407]]. Another effort to build a pagoda was begun in [[1470]], but this was destroyed by lightning as well.<ref name=asahi/>

Rebuilding began almost immediately, and construction began as well in [[1399]] on a seven-tiered 110-meter pagoda which upon completion was the tallest in Japan. This was destroyed by lightning shortly afterwards, however.<ref name=asahi>Tomoyoshi Kubo, "[http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201607090039.html Artifact may be from long-lost pagoda, tallest ever built]," ''Asahi Shimbun'', 9 July 2016.</ref> After some further unfortunate incidents with lightning striking and destroying other newly rebuilt structures, the temple once again resembled its original form by [[1407]]. Another effort to build a pagoda was begun, but this was destroyed by lightning as well, in [[1470]].<ref name=asahi/>

The temple was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times afterwards, but the Great Dharma Hall (法堂, ''[[hatto|hattô]]'') remains today treasured as the oldest extant example in Japan of a particular Muromachi period Zen style of architecture. The foundations of some buildings never rebuilt are visible just outside the lotus pond.

The temple was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times afterwards, but the Great Dharma Hall (法堂, ''[[hatto|hattô]]'') remains today treasured as the oldest extant example in Japan of a particular Muromachi period Zen style of architecture. The foundations of some buildings never rebuilt are visible just outside the lotus pond.

The temple covers a fairly extensive area of land, and includes many halls and structures. A　lotus pond sits at the southern end of the main north-south path leading through the compound. [[Tatchu|Sub-temples]], including Rinkô-in (林光院), Gyokuryû-in (玉龍院),　Daikômyô-ji (大光明寺), Fukô-in (普広院), Jiun-in (慈雲院), Jishô-in (慈照院), Hôkô-ji (豊光寺), Chôtoku-in (長得院), Yôgen-in (養源院), Kôgen-in (光源院), Zuishun-in (瑞春院), and Daitsû-in (大通院), sit to either side of the lotus pond, and deeper within the compound. The complex also includes [[Shinto shrines]] dedicated to [[Inari]], [[Benten]], and [[Hachiman]].

The temple covers a fairly extensive area of land, and includes many halls and structures. A　lotus pond sits at the southern end of the main north-south path leading through the compound. [[Tatchu|Sub-temples]], including Rinkô-in (林光院), Gyokuryû-in (玉龍院),　Daikômyô-ji (大光明寺), Fukô-in (普広院), Jiun-in (慈雲院), Jishô-in (慈照院), Hôkô-ji (豊光寺), Chôtoku-in (長得院), Yôgen-in (養源院), Kôgen-in (光源院), Zuishun-in (瑞春院), and Daitsû-in (大通院), sit to either side of the lotus pond, and deeper within the compound. The complex also includes [[Shinto shrines]] dedicated to [[Inari]], [[Benten]], and [[Hachiman]].

The temple's belltower was rebuilt in [[1844]]. The sutra storehouse (''kyôzô''), most recently rebuilt in [[1859]]-[[1860]], houses among other treasures a complete Korean copy of the [[Tripitaka]]. The grounds also include a memorial mound where the hair of [[Emperor Go-Mizunoo]] was buried after he took the tonsure. The tower that once stood in connection with this mound burned down in [[1788]], but the burial mound, and a stone marker identifying it, remain.

The temple's belltower was rebuilt in [[1844]]. The sutra storehouse (''kyôzô''), most recently rebuilt in [[1859]]-[[1860]], houses among other treasures a complete Korean copy of the [[Tripitaka]]. The grounds also include a memorial mound where the hair of [[Emperor Go-Mizunoo]] was buried after he took the tonsure. The tower that once stood in connection with this mound burned down in the [[Great Tenmei Fire]] of [[1788]], but the burial mound, and a stone marker identifying it, remain.

A bathhouse on the grounds, known as Senmyô, is believed to have been built around [[1400]]; the current structure dates to a rebuilding in [[1596]]. The bathhouse takes its name from a reference to a [[sutra]] which features a story of 16 [[bodhisattvas]] bathing together; the word ''senmyô'' references specifically the words spoken by one of the figures in the story at the moment he reaches enlightenment. The bathhouse appears in at least one famous ''[[emaki]]'' (scroll painting), the ''Daitô gozan shodô-zu'' (大唐五山諸堂図, Images of Various Halls of the Great Five Chinese [read: Zen] Temples).  

A bathhouse on the grounds, known as Senmyô, is believed to have been built around [[1400]]; the current structure dates to a rebuilding in [[1596]]. The bathhouse takes its name from a reference to a [[sutra]] which features a story of 16 [[bodhisattvas]] bathing together; the word ''senmyô'' references specifically the words spoken by one of the figures in the story at the moment he reaches enlightenment. The bathhouse appears in at least one famous ''[[emaki]]'' (scroll painting), the ''Daitô gozan shodô-zu'' (大唐五山諸堂図, Images of Various Halls of the Great Five Chinese [read: Zen] Temples).