| History |  |
At the end of the 15th century, Ashikaga Yoshimasa built the Jisho-ji as his villa. He was shogun then, taking the example of his grandfather who had built the Kinkaku-ji. After Yoshimasa's death, the building was converted into a temple in accordance with his wishes. Ginkaku-ji ("Temple of the Silver Pavilion") got its name from the Ginkaku ("Silver Pavilion"), which stands in the temple grounds. The garden of this temple is famous as a historical site representative of the unique style of the Higashi-yama culture of that time. The Kannon-den and Togu-do are both designated as National Treasures. |
| Description | |
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It was built in 1474 by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who sought to emulate the golden Kinkaku-ji commissioned by his grandfather Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The temple is part of the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen.
The Kannon hall is the main building at the temple. It is popularly known as Ginkaku, the Silver Pavilion. There is a popular account: "The intention was to cover it in silver, but due to the increasing severity of the Ōnin War, which broke out several years earlier in 1467, construction was halted, and the silver covering never placed on the pavilion".
However, time-honored trees and great stones which were collected from various places in Japan are used for the temple, thus, cost was spent luxuriously to build the temple. Therefore, it is difficult to consider that only the cost of the silver foil was saved. And, the silver has not been detected at all as for scientific researches done in January 2007. Therefore, the present appearance of the temple is thought as be based on the original intention of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, that is "wabi-sabi".
Like Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji was originally built to serve as a place of rest and solitude for the Shogun. During his reign as Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa inspired a new outpouring of traditional culture, which came to be known as Higashiyama Bunka, the Culture of the Eastern Mountain. Having retired to the villa, it is said Yoshimasa sat in the pavilion, contemplating the calm and beauty of the gardens as the Ōnin War worsened and Kyoto was burned to the ground. In 1485, Yoshimasa became a Zen Buddhist monk, and after his death the villa became a Buddhist temple, renamed Jishō-ji.
In addition to that building, the temple features wooded grounds covered with a variety of mosses, and a Japanese garden, supposedly designed by the great landscape artist Soami. The rock and sand garden of Ginkaku-ji is particularly famous, and a pile of sand said to symbolize Mount Fuji has now come to be a part of the garden.
- Address : 2 Ginkakuji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City
- Telephone : 075-771-5725
- Access : Take city bus to Ginkakujimichi, and head east
- Open : From March 15th to November 30th : 8:30/17:00/From December 1st to March 14th : 9:00/16:30
- Fee : General 500 yen / Elementary and Junior High School Students : 300 yen |
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