- Kinkaku-ji
is the informal name of Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺, "Deer Garden Temple") in
Kyoto ,Japan . It was originally built in1397 to serve as a retirement villa forShogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu , as part of his estate then known as "Kitayama". [Schirokauer, Conrad, et al: "A Brief History of Japanese Civilization", page 106. Wadsworth Publishing, 2006.] It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of theRinzai school . The temple was burned down twice during theŌnin War .The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku, is a three-story building on the grounds of the temple. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure
gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a "shariden", housing relics of the Buddha (Buddha's Ashes). The building is often linked or contrasted withGinkaku-ji , the Silver Pavilion Temple, which is also located in Kyoto.The Golden Pavilion is set in a magnificent Japanese strolling garden ("kaiyū-shiki"). The pond in front of it is called "Kyōko-chi" (Mirror Pond). There are many islands and stones on the pond that represent the Buddhist creation story.
In
1950 , the pavilion was burned down by a monk, who then attempted suicide on the Daimon-ji hill behind the building. He survived, but during the investigation after the monk's arrest, his mother was called in to talk with the police; on her way home, she committed suicide by jumping from her train into a river valley. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison; he died of illness during his imprisonment in 1956. At that time, the statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was burned. A fictionalized version of these events is at the center ofYukio Mishima 's 1956 book "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion ".The present structure dates from
1955 . Recently, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed, and a new coating as well as gilding with gold-leaf, much thicker than the original coatings, was completed in1987 . Additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings, was also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in2003 .The land where the Golden Pavilion sits was used in the 1220s for a villa belonging to Saionji Kintsune.
References
ee also
*
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) External links
* [http://www.shokoku-ji.or.jp/ Shokoku-ji]
** [http://www.shokoku-ji.or.jp/english/e_kinkakuji/ Kinkaku-ji]
* [http://robpongi.com/pages/comboKINKAKUJI.html KINKAKU-JI VIDEO]
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