Kinkakuji Temple
Muromachi period, constructed 1397
(Kyoto Prefecture)

The Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) belongs to the Shokokuji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. It is built on the site of an estate that once belonged to the aristocratic Saionji family. The third Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, took possession of the estate in 1397 and built a complex of sumptuous buildings, including the Golden Paviliion, which was known as the Kitayama-dono (Kitayama Palace). After Yoshimitsu's death in 1408, his son Yoshimochi converted the palace into a temple that was given the name Rokuonji. The exterior walls the Golden Pavilion's second and third storeys are gilded and on the roof is a cast-bronze phoenix. The original building was burned to the ground by the act of an arsonist in 1950, but was rebuilt in 1955. The ground floor is built in the shinden-zukuri architectural style. The middle floor is representative of buke-zukuri (samurai-style) architecture, and the top floor follows the kara-yo style customarily used in Zen temples.