Kinkaku-ji, commonly known as the Golden Pavilion, is the popular name for Rokuon-ji Temple, formally known as Hokuzan Rokuon Zen-ji. The temple complex covers more than 40,000 tsubo (approximately 132,000 square meters).
The temple is especially famous for its Shariden, or relic hall, known as the Golden Pavilion. Its upper two stories are covered in gold leaf, creating a brilliant golden reflection against the surrounding greenery and pond.
The garden centered on the Golden Pavilion is designated both a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government. Rokuon-ji is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
Together with Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion) and Hiunkaku Pavilion at Nishi Hongan-ji Temple, the Golden Pavilion is considered one of Kyoto’s Three Famous Pavilions.
The history of Kinkaku-ji began in 1397, when Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, built his retirement villa, Kitayama-dono, on this site.
The pavilion and its surrounding gardens are said to have embodied Yoshimitsu’s vision of the Buddhist Pure Land, a paradise of beauty and spiritual tranquility recreated in the earthly world.
After Yoshimitsu’s death, his villa was converted into a Zen Buddhist temple in accordance with his wishes. The temple was named Rokuon-ji after part of his Buddhist posthumous title, Rokuon-in-dono.
The Golden Pavilion was a three-story wooden structure built beside Kyoko-chi Pond, facing south. Its roof featured a pyramidal design covered with wooden shingles, crowned by a bronze phoenix.
The original pavilion was designated a National Treasure. However, in 1950, it was destroyed in an arson attack along with Buddhist statues and other sacred objects housed inside.
The pavilion was rebuilt in 1955, based primarily on architectural drawings prepared during earlier restoration work. The reconstruction followed the original building’s structure and design as closely as possible.
Further major restoration work began in 1986 because the gold leaf had started to peel and the lacquer had deteriorated under ultraviolet light.
During this restoration, approximately 200,000 sheets of special gold leaf, known as “five-times-thickness gold leaf,” were applied. The total amount of gold leaf was about 20 kilograms, and each sheet was approximately five times thicker than standard gold leaf, which is around 0.1 micrometers thick.
Approximately 1.5 metric tons of domestically produced Joboji lacquer were also used to renew the lacquer finish. The work included replacing the gold leaf, restoring ceiling paintings, and renewing the bronze phoenix on the roof.
Approximately 28,000 tsubo (around 92,600 square meters) of the temple garden is designated a Special Historic Site and Special Place of Scenic Beauty.
The garden is a traditional Japanese strolling pond garden centered on Kyoko-chi Pond. Small islands, including Ashihara Island, Crane Island, and Turtle Island, are arranged among distinctive rocks and stones known as Hatakeyama Stone, Akamatsu Stone, and Hosokawa Stone.
One of the garden’s most famous sights is the reflection of the Golden Pavilion on the pond’s surface, often called the “Upside-Down Golden Pavilion.” The mirrored image creates a particularly beautiful scene when the water is calm.
Another highlight is Gingasen, a spring whose clear water continues to flow today. According to tradition, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu used this water to prepare tea.
Camellias, Japanese andromeda, and autumn foliage add seasonal color to the grounds, making the garden attractive throughout the year.
Fudo Hall is the oldest surviving building within the temple grounds, having been reconstructed in 1573.
The principal object of worship is a stone statue of Fudo Myoo, a revered Buddhist deity traditionally believed to have been carved by Kobo Daishi, also known as Kukai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism.
The statue has been an object of popular devotion since the Edo period. It is regarded as a sacred, miraculous image and is traditionally treated as a hidden Buddha, or hibutsu.
Sekkatei is a traditional tea house reached by walking up a path through the grounds. During the Edo period, the monk Hōrin Jōshō commissioned the renowned tea master Kanamori Sowa to create the tea house as part of efforts to restore the aging Golden Pavilion and its pond garden.
The original structure was destroyed by fire in the early Meiji period, and the present building was reconstructed in 1874.
The tea house features traditional sukiya-style architecture. Its main building includes a three-tatami-mat tea room, a preparation area, and an earthen-floored space. Connected to it is an elevated two-tatami-mat room called Hōseirō, topped with a gabled roof covered in wooden shingles.
Near the Hojo, the temple’s main hall, stands Rikushu-no-Matsu, a distinctive pine tree traditionally said to have been planted by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu himself.
The Hojo is a single-story building with a hipped-and-gabled roof, reconstructed in 1678. The pine is celebrated as one of Kyoto’s Three Famous Pines and is admired for its unusual shape, which resembles a boat traveling across the land.
Rigyo-seki, or the Leaping Carp Stone, is placed in a waterfall basin within the garden. It is inspired by the Chinese legend of the Dragon Gate, in which a carp that succeeds in swimming up a waterfall transforms into a dragon.
The waterfall is approximately 2.3 meters high, with a single dramatic drop. The stone is tilted at an angle to suggest a carp poised to leap upward, capturing the moment just before its legendary transformation into a dragon.
Hours of worship: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Open all year round
Admission fee
Adults (high school students and older) 400 yen
Elementary/junior high school students: 300 yen
250 spaces
Hours of operation: 8:40 a.m. to 5:10 p.m.
Passenger cars: 300 yen for the first 60 minutes, 150 yen for every 30 minutes thereafter
40 minutes by city bus from JR Kyoto Station
Get off at “Kinkakuji-michi” bus stop.