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Kinkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is one of the most famous and recognizable [[Buddhist temple]] halls in Japan. One of the many sites comprising the [[Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto]] [[World Heritage Site]], the temple was built by [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]] in [[1397]], to serve as his retirement villa.

Kinkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is one of the most famous and recognizable [[Buddhist temple]] halls in Japan. One of the many sites comprising the [[Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto]] [[World Heritage Site]], the temple was built by [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]] in [[1397]], to serve as his retirement villa.

The site had previously been, in the 1220s, the location of the villa of court aristocrat [[Saionji Kintsune]]. Yoshimitsu abdicated his position as [[Shogun]] in [[1394]], and in 1397 began construction on a retirement villa at this location, which he called Kitayama-den (the northern mountain palace). Following his death, in accordance with his wishes, the estate became a Buddhist temple; though the temple is more properly named Rokuon-ji, it is commonly referred to as Kinkaku-ji for this most famous structure. The building itself, also known as the Shariden ("relics hall"), is three stories tall, and is intended to serve chiefly as a pavilion from which to admire the garden, though it does contain religious sculpture. The first floor, constructed in the ''[[shinden-zukuri]]'' style and termed the Hôsui-in, contained spaces for receiving guests, including an exterior porch for accessing small boats, which one might row on the pond. The second story, constructed in a ''buke-zukuri'' style such as was used for samurai residences, is called Chôon-dô, and was intended for more private meetings, while the third floor, constructed in the ''karayô'' style typical of Zen temples, and called Kukkyô-chô, was for Yoshimitsu's personal private use. The structure contains lavish ceiling paintings and a famous statue of Yoshimitsu.

The site had previously been, in the 1220s, the location of the villa of court aristocrat [[Saionji Kintsune]]. The [[Saionji family]] fell into decline over the course of the [[Kamakura period]], and their Kitayama estate likewise fell into disrepair.

 

Yoshimitsu abdicated his position as [[Shogun]] in [[1394]], and in 1397 began construction on a retirement villa at the location, which he called Kitayama-den (the northern mountain palace). The first major building to be completed was the ''minami gosho'', or Southern Palace, where Yoshimitsu took up residence in [[1398]]; it later became the chief residence of his wife [[Hino Yasuko]], niece of his first wife, [[Hino Nariko]]. The ''kita gosho'', or Northern Palace, was completed in [[1407]], and became Yoshimitsu's own residence. Another residence on the site was built for [[Sukenmon'in]], the mother of [[Emperor Go-Enyu|Emperor Go-Enyû]] and grandmother of [[Emperor Go-Komatsu]].<ref>H. Paul Varley, "Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the World of Kitayama: Social Change and Shogunal Patronage in Early Muromachi Japan", in John Hall and Toyoda Takeshi eds., ''Japan in the Muromachi Age'', University of California Press (1977), 201.</ref>

 

Following Yoshimitsu's death, in accordance with his wishes, the estate became a Buddhist temple; though the temple is more properly named Rokuon-ji, it is commonly referred to as Kinkaku-ji for this most famous structure. The building itself, also known as the Shariden ("relics hall"), is three stories tall, and is intended to serve chiefly as a pavilion from which to admire the garden, though it does contain religious sculpture. The first floor, constructed in the ''[[shinden-zukuri]]'' style and termed the Hôsui-in, contained spaces for receiving guests, including an exterior porch for accessing small boats, which one might row on the pond. The second story, constructed in a ''buke-zukuri'' style such as was used for samurai residences, is called Chôon-dô, and was intended for more private meetings, while the third floor, constructed in the ''karayô'' style typical of Zen temples, and called Kukkyô-chô, was for Yoshimitsu's personal private use. The structure contains lavish ceiling paintings and a famous statue of Yoshimitsu.

The top two stories are lacquered and gilded on the outside, and the building is topped with a shingled roof and golden phoenix finial. A disgruntled monk destroyed the pavilion in 1950, in an act of arson which forms the focus of the novel ''Kinkaku-ji'' (or, in English translations, ''The Temple of the Golden Pavilion'') by Mishima Yukio. The Kinkaku was rebuilt, restored, five years later. The extent to which gold was used in the original construction is unclear, but it is generally believed that the latest restoration effort, when the pavilion was re-gilded in 1987, employed a thicker and more extensive covering of gold than the building ever possessed previously.

The top two stories are lacquered and gilded on the outside, and the building is topped with a shingled roof and golden phoenix finial. A disgruntled monk destroyed the pavilion in 1950, in an act of arson which forms the focus of the novel ''Kinkaku-ji'' (or, in English translations, ''The Temple of the Golden Pavilion'') by Mishima Yukio. The Kinkaku was rebuilt, restored, five years later. The extent to which gold was used in the original construction is unclear, but it is generally believed that the latest restoration effort, when the pavilion was re-gilded in 1987, employed a thicker and more extensive covering of gold than the building ever possessed previously.

*Ching, Francis D.K. et al. ''A Global History of Architecture''. Second Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. p444.

*Ching, Francis D.K. et al. ''A Global History of Architecture''. Second Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. p444.

*Pamphlets available on-site.

*Pamphlets available on-site.

==External Links==

==External Links==