The Golden Pavilion Temple (Kinkaku-ji, Kinkakuji), Kyoto, Japan
Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple) is the informal name of Rokuon-ji (Deer Garden Temple) in Kyoto, Japan. It was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as part of his estate then known as Kitayama. 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. On the roof is a golden ho-o or so-called "Chinese phoenix". The building is often linked or contrasted with Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion Temple, which is also located in Kyoto. The Golden Pavilion is set in a magnificent Japanese strolling garden (kaiyushiki). The pond in front of it is called Kyoko-chi (Mirror Pond). There are many islands and stones on the pond that represent the Buddhist creation story. 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 in 1987. Additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings, was also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in 2003.
Size: 3568px × 5260px
Location: Kyoto Prefecture Kansai (Kinki) Region, japan, East Asia
Photo credit: © Japanese Temples / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: architecture, asia, attraction, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, chi, creation, destination, east, famous, gardens, gold, golden, heritage, important, japan, japanese, japanesetemples, ji, kaiyushiki, kansai, kinkaku, kinkaku-ji, kinkakuji, kinki, kyoco, kyoto, lake, leaf, meditate, mirror, ornamental, pavilion, peace, pond, prefecture, reflection, region, religion, religious, restored, sacred, shrine, site, story, temple, tourist, trees, unesco, visit, water, wooden, worls, zen
