Ginkakuji Temple
Muromachi period, constructed 1489
(Kyoto Prefecture)

The Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion), located in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, belongs, like the Kinkakuji, to the Shokokuji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. In 1465, the eighth Ashikaga shogun Yoshimasa built a villa there, on the site of an abandoned Tendai monastery called the Jodoji, and it became known as the Higashiyama-dono (Higashiyama Palace). After his death, it was converted into a temple known as the Jishoji. Yoshimasa had planned to cover the main building, which was at that time called the "Kannon Hall," with silver leaf but died before this could be done; hence the name "Silver Pavilion" by which it is commonly known today. Its upper storey was designed in the style of a Buddhist hall while its lower storey was designed in a purely residential style. The interior construction has many elements that suggest the later-developed shoin-zukuri architectural style.