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Kinkaku-ji Review

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Kinkaku-ji

Address: 1 Kinkaku-ji-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto

Temple of the Golden Pavilion

Category: Religious Sites
Location: Kita-ku

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Fodor's Review:

For a retirement home, the gold-sheathed Kinkaku-ji is pretty magnificent. Shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (1358-1409) had it constructed in 1393 for the time when he would quit politics—the following year, in fact—to manage the affairs of state through the new shogun, his 10-year-old son. On Yoshimitsu's death, his son followed his father's wishes and converted the villa into a temple named Rokuon-ji. The structure sits, following the Shinden style of the Heian period, at the edge of the lake. Pillars support the three-story pavilion, which extends over the pond and is reflected in the calm waters. To underscore this statement of his prestige and power, the shogun had the ceiling of the third floor of the pavilion covered in gold leaf.

In 1950 a student monk with metaphysical aspirations torched Kinkaku-ji, burning it to the ground. (Yukio Mishima's book Temple of the Golden Pavilion is a fictional exploration of the mind of the student.) Kinkaku-ji was rebuilt in 1955 based on the original design, except that all three stories were covered with gold leaf, in accordance with the shogun's original intention, instead of only the third-floor ceiling.

Marveling at this pavilion, you might find it difficult to imagine the era in which Shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga lived out his golden years. The country was in turmoil, and Kyoto residents suffered severe famines and plagues—local death tolls sometimes reached 1,000 a day. The temple is a short walk from the Kinkaku-ji-mae bus stop. From Daisen-in the ride on Bus 12 takes about 10 minutes.

Cost: ¥400
Open: Daily 9-5

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