金閣寺 – Kinkaku-ji

Nov 24, 2012

2 min read

It’s been a long time since I last laid eyes on Kinkaku-ji. Despite it’s rather extravagant appearance, Kinkaku-ji is a Zen temple. Formally known as Rokuon-ji, from the first two characters of the posthumous name of its builder, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408. Because of the golden pavilion, the , however, the temple became known as Kinkaku-ji instead.

The golden pavilion is the only building left of Yoshimitsu’s former retirement complex. It has burned down numerous times throughout its history including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto. And once in 1950 when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk, an incident made even more famous by novelist Mishima Yukio, who wrote a novel loosely based on the incident, inspired by the monk’s account in court. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955.

We almost didn’t make it, coming from Arashiyama due to all the other travelers flocking to see the autumn foliage. But almost as a reward for our efforts, we not only were one of the last groups to be let inside, but we also got to catch a look of the golden pavilion just as the sun was setting, which was quite neat. The brilliant shine of the gold leaf turned to a gentle glow and reflected off the still pond, making for some quite picturesque photos.