In this special feature on Kyoto's famous sites, we will introduce the characteristics and history of Kyoto's shrines and temples. We hope to provide detailed information that will be useful for sightseeing. This is the fifth installment, and we will introduce Kinkakuji Temple and Ginkakuji Temple.

 

●Kinkakuji Temple

The gently sloping mountain range that stretches to the northwest of Kyoto City is called Kitayama, and at the foot of this mountain was built Kinkakuji Temple by the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkakuji is the common name, while its official name is Rokuonji Temple, and Kinkaku refers to the Shariden Hall at the center of the temple.

It began when Yoshimitsu inherited a villa from the Kamakura period nobleman Saionji Kintsune and remodeled it into a villa, which came to be called "Kitayamadono." After Yoshimitsu handed over the position of shogun to his son Yoshimochi, he built this villa as a retirement residence and moved there.

In the center of the temple grounds is a large pond called Kyokochi, and on its banks stands a shining golden Shariden (relic hall). This is Kinkakuji, a three-story building made of lacquer and gold leaf. The first floor is built in a shinden-zukuri style, the second in a shoin-zukuri style, and the third in a Zen Buddhist temple style, using different architectural styles. The gold leafed building is so dazzling that it seems out of place in a Zen temple.

The reflection of Kinkakuji in the pond is beautiful, and the garden is also magnificent and is a special national scenic spot.

On the other side is a small teahouse in the Sukiya style called "Takei-tei." It was not built by Yoshimitsu, but by Kanamori Sowa, a tea ceremony master from the Edo period. It is said that the view of the Golden Pavilion from here at dusk is truly beautiful. But why did Yoshimitsu cover the Zen temple where he lived in retirement with gold leaf and make it a gorgeous and luxurious building? Surely there is no need to cover a Zen temple with gold leaf?

In fact, Kitayama Palace was not a retirement residence. Even after handing over the position of Shogun to Yoshimochi, Yoshimitsu had no intention of retiring and continued to hold power. Kitayama Palace was the palace from which he exercised power. At the time, the site was grand and included not only the Shariden (relic hall) of the Golden Pavilion, but also a Buddhist hall, a Shoin (study room), and an Immovable Temple, making it much more dazzling and luxurious than the current Rokuon-ji Temple, and it was said to have been just like an Imperial Palace.

Yoshimitsu had gathered not only his retainers but also monks and Tenpu here to show that he was above the Imperial Court, the Emperor, and everyone else. However, he did not invite Yoshimochi. Yoshimitsu loved his younger brother Yoshitsugu more than Yoshimochi, so Yoshimochi hated Yoshimitsu, and the relationship between the two was strained.

After Yoshimitsu died, Yoshimochi disliked Kitayama-den and converted it into a Zen temple, hence the name Rokuon-ji. The Buddha hall, Shoin and Fudo-do were demolished, leaving only the Shariden and the garden.

Kin'yami burned down in an arson attack in 1930. It was rebuilt five years later and remains standing to this day.

 

● Ginkakuji Temple

To the east of Kyoto city, at the foot of Mount Tsukimachi, one of the 36 peaks of Higashiyama, lies Ginkakuji Temple, a representative tourist spot in Kyoto. Ginkakuji is the common name; its official name is Jisho-ji Silver Pavilion. During the Muromachi period, Kitayama culture flourished under the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, began construction of his Higashiyama villa at the foot of Mount Tsukimachi in 1482. Just after the Onin War, the city of Kyoto was in decline, but Yoshimasa imposed taxes and labor on the townspeople to build a villa, and the following year he moved there and began a life devoted to the tea ceremony and painting and calligraphy.

This Higashiyama Villa is what would later become the Ginkakuji Temple. Initially, the Villa contained a number of residences, including the Kaisho, Tsunegosho and Izumiden, but today only Ginkaku and Togudo remain. Togudo is a private Buddhist hall for worshiping Buddha, measuring three and a half square meters and containing a Butsuma and Yoshimasa's study, Dojinsai. Unlike attached shoins, Dojinsai is furnished with shelves, and is said to be the beginning of full-scale shoin-zukuri architecture. Shoin-zukuri is an architectural style that is still used in modern Japanese-style homes, and developed from the ancient Shinden-zukuri style to become established during the samurai era of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.

Its distinctive feature is that it is a room equipped with a tokonoma alcove, a staggered shelf, and a shoin study, which are called zashiki kazari. Shoin was originally a space with a bay window-like desk-like shelf attached to the side of a tokonoma alcove, and a shoji screen to let in light, and was a space in a temple where monks could read books. It eventually came to be used as a general term to refer to rooms and buildings equipped with shoin facilities.

Additionally, there are mysterious formations in the garden of Ginkakuji. These are the Kogetsudai and Ginshatan sand mounds. Kogetsudai is a cone-shaped pile of sand with a flat top. On the other hand, Ginshatan is a stepped pile of white sand with a wave pattern. These were not commissioned by Yoshimasa, but are said to date back to the Edo period, but it is a mystery as to when, by whom, and for what purpose they were created.

It is said that Kogetsudai was built to admire the moon rising over Mount Tsukimi, and Ginsanda was built to appreciate the fantastical glow of the garden as the moonlight reflects off the sand, but the details are unknown.

The splendor of these sand-filled gardens and Togudo, an extremely valuable piece of Japanese architectural history that became the roots of Shoin-zukuri style, captivate visitors.

 

Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji are buildings that you will almost always come across when studying history, so why not go and see them?

Kimono rental VASARA has a store in front of Kyoto Station. Please use it if you are considering going for a stroll in a kimono.