Kinkaku-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in Kita-ku, about 40 minutes by bus from Kyoto Station. Officially known as Rokuon-ji Temple, the temple is called Kinkakuji(“Golden Pavilion”) because of its gold-leafed shariden.
It is said that Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa of a aristocrat, then Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, got it and built an expansion to it.
As you pass through the gate, you will see Kyokochi Pond and Golden Pavilion, the main building of the temple, in front of you.
Kinkaku-ji, said to be one of the representative buildings of the Kitayama culture, has a three-story structure with no roof between the first and second stories.
The first floor is called “Hossui-in” and is in the style of the aristocrats’ “Shinden-zukuri” architecture. This layer is finished with bare wood without gold leaf.
On the west side is a small pavilion called “Sosei,” which also serves as a landing place for boats.
The 2nd floor is called “Chouon-do,” in the style of samurai architecture, and is entirely finished in gold leaf. The floor is surrounded by a rim and a balustrade, and the balustrade is also finished with gold leaf.
The third floor is called “Kukkyouchou,” and is a Zen Buddhist style structure in the Chinese style with bell-shaped windows. Like the second floor, the entire surface is covered with gold leaf, and the third layer is entirely covered with gold leaf inside as well.
A golden phoenix statue overlooking the temple grounds is at the top of the square roof.
#kyoto #goldpavilion #kinkaku #kinkakuji #worldheritage #kyototrip