Kinkaku-Ji, the Golden Pavilion

The Kinkaku-Ji, better known as the Golden Pavilion, is a historic Zen Buddhist temple located on the northwestern outskirts of Kyoto in the Kita district.

Recognisable by the iconic gold lining of the main building, it is believed to be the cradle of the so-called Kitayama Culture.

The temple is surrounded by beautiful gardens and is one of the ancient capital's most luminous creations.

A must-see destination on a trip to Kyoto, the Kinkaku-Ji is served by numerous bus routes and is within walking distance of other cultural and tourist attractions.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Location - Kinkaku-Ji Location on Google Maps

Official Website

OPENING HOURS: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Address: 1 Kinkakuji-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8361 Japan

Kinkaku-Ji: brief description

The Rokuon-Ji (鹿苑寺, literally: "Temple of the Deer Garden"), popularly called Kinkaku-Ji (金閣寺, literally: "Temple of the Golden Pavilion"), is one of the most important and visited Zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto.

It stands at the northern edge of the city centre, at the foot of the northern mountain ranges (北山, according to the kun, Japanese pronunciation, Kitayama; according to the on, Chinese pronunciation, Hokuzan).

The temple was founded in what was originally a mansion (Kitayamadono) of the shogun Ashikaga Yomishitsu. The shogun played an important role in promoting what came to be known as the Kitayama Culture (北山文化), a cultural climate that helped transfer knowledge and customs from Ming-era China to Japan and elevated the aristocratic classes of the time.

The shogun ordered that on his death the mansion be converted into a Zen Buddhist temple and this was done.

The temple had its ups and downs and suffered severe damage several times. During the Onin War, all the buildings were lost and had to be rebuilt.

The temple belongs to the Shokoku-Ji of the Rinzai School of Buddhism.

Main architecture of the Kinkaku-Ji

Surrounding the famous golden pavilion, the magnificent shariden, is a delightful landscaped garden.

The place, intended as a representation of paradise on earth, became a popular pilgrimage destination for notables and men of culture of the time. Among them was the Emperor Gokomatsu, father of the Zen monk Ikkyu.

The temple has become a paradigm of the harmonious relationship between architecture and the natural landscape.

Shariden

The pavilion that stands in the centre of the garden, and from whose gilding the name has come to be known as Kinkaku-Ji, is an exquisite piece of architecture that harmoniously combines different styles.

It is a shariden (舍利殿), i.e. it serves the function of guarding relics of the Buddha.

The building has three floors, each admirably displaying the characteristics of an architectural style:

First floor: houses the Dharma Water Hall (法水院, Hossui-In). It is in the Shinden style, characteristic of the noble residential architecture of the Heian Period. It is distinguished by its large veranda and the whiteness of the plaster-clad walls with exposed beams and columns. Openings allow the flow of light into the interior to be regulated. Statues of Buddha Sakyamuni and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu can often be seen from the outside;

Second floor: houses the Cave of the Sound of the Streams (潮音洞, Cho'on-Do). Buke-style, recurring in the dwellings of the samurai class. Inside are rooms for Buddhist worship. The shape of the windows and the presence of sliding doors recall the impermanence character of reality, one of the central findings of Buddhist practice;

Third floor: houses the Culmination of Completion (究竟顶, Kukkyo-cho). In the style of Chinese chan (禅院) Buddhist temples, zenshu-butsuden, it is a richly decorated room.

The top two floors are covered with gold leaf. The gilding indicates purity and serves to make the temple stand out in the surrounding landscape.

On the outside of the structure, additional foils reveal the location of the altars in the temple. The exterior is a reflection of the interior.

At the top is an elegant four-pitch roof surmounted by the figure of a phoenix (鳳凰, Hoo).

Attached to the pavilion is a small pier (釣殿, tsuri-dono), under which a small boat can be anchored.

The shariden has repeatedly suffered serious damage. Most recently in 1950 it was set on fire and destroyed by a novice. The story was transposed into a short story by the famous Yukio Mishima ('The Temple of the Golden Pavilion', 1956).

Numerous restoration works have aimed at restoring the temple to its original form. In addition to the structure, the statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the interior paintings have been restored.

Shinun

The small Shinun (榊雲) shrine, dedicated to the worship of Kasuga Myojin, the tutelary deity, is located north of the shariden.

Gingasen

The path that continues beyond Kinkaku-Ji leads to the Gingasen (銀河泉, 'Source of the Milky Way'). It is said that the shogun used to draw water for tea at this spring.

Anmintaku

In the forest you come across once you have left Kinkaku-Ji is a small, quiet pond called Anmintaku (安民沢). Since it never dries up, even during periods of drought, it is a place where people pray for the favour of rain. In the centre is a five-tier stone pagoda called Hakuja-cho. It is believed to be one of the few vestiges of the pre-existing temple.

Hojo

The hojo is the building that houses the monks. Inside are elegant fusuma paintings. The plexus cannot be visited.

Sekka-Tei

At the end of the tour is a tea house dating from the Edo period, the Sekka-Tei.

Garden

The shariden is in the centre of a vast landscape garden in the kaiyu-shiki-teien (回遊式庭園, 'landscape garden to be enjoyed by walking around') style. The work is considered one of the highest expressions of Muromachi Period art.

The idea of establishing a harmonious relationship between the interior and the exterior also returns here on a large scale. The work therefore also calls upon the surrounding landscape. The technique of the 'borrowed landscape', very common in this kind of work, is known as shakkei.

In the large pond (鏡湖池, Kyoko-chi) are ten islands. The rocks, pines and bridges are arranged to allude to landscapes from Chinese and Japanese literature.

The reflection of the nearby shariden shines in the waters of the pond. Four stones are lined up next to it. They represent ships about to set sail for the Island of Eternal Life from Chinese mythology.