, officially named , is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is one of the constructions that represent the

Higashiyama Culture The Higashiyama culture (東山文化 ''Higashiyama bunka'') is a segment of Japanese culture that includes innovations in architecture, the visual arts and theatre during the late Muromachi period. It originated and was promoted in the 15th cen ...

of the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

History

Ashikaga Yoshimasa "Ashikaga Yoshimasa" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 du ...

initiated plans for creating a retirement villa and gardens as early as 1460, and it functioned as a pleasure villa for the shoguns to rest from their administrative duties. After his death, Yoshimasa arranged for this property to become a Zen temple under the name Jishō-ji. The temple is today associated with the Shokoku-ji branch of

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

Zen. The two-storied , is the main temple structure. Its construction began February 21, 1482 (''Bummei 14, fourth day of the second month''). For the structure's design, Yoshimasa sought to emulate the golden

Kinkaku-ji , officially named , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan and a tourist attraction. It is designated as a World Heritage Site, a National Special Historic Site, a National Special Landscape, and one of the 17 Historic Monuments of Ancient K ...

, which had been commissioned by his grandfather

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu ...

. It is popularly known as ''Ginkaku'', the "Silver Pavilion," because of the initial plans to cover its exterior in silver foil, but this familiar nickname dates back only as far as the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(1600–1868). During the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era name, Japanese era during which the war started; the war ende ...

, construction was halted. Despite Yoshimasa's intention to cover the structure with a distinctive silver foil overlay, this work was delayed so long that the plans were never realized before Yoshimasa's death. The present appearance of the structure is understood to be the same as when Yoshimasa himself last saw it. This "unfinished" appearance illustrates one of the aspects of " wabi-sabi" quality."Protecting Ginkaku-ji, the Beauty of Wabi-sabi; Reluctance to Black Lacquering the Outer Wall,"
''Kyoto Shimbun.'' January 23, 2008. Like Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji was originally built to serve as a place of rest and solitude for the Shōgun. During his reign as Shōgun, 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 Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhist monk. After his death on January 27, 1490 (''Entoku 2, seventh day of the first month''),Titsingh
p. 361.
/ref> the villa and gardens became a Buddhist temple complex, renamed Jishō-ji after Yoshimasa's Buddhist name. After extensive restoration, which started in February 2008, Ginkaku-ji is again in full glory to visit. The garden and temple complex are open to the public. There is still no silver foil used. After much discussion, it was decided not to refinish the lacquer to the original state. The lacquer finish was the source of the original silver appearance of the temple, with the reflection of the silver water of the pond on the lacquer finish.

Garden

In addition to the temple's famous building, the property features wooded grounds covered with a variety of mosses. This

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

was supposedly designed by the great landscape artist

Sōami was a Japanese painter and landscape art, landscape artist. Family Sōami was the grandson and son of the painters and art connoisseurs Nōami and Geiami, respectively. Career Sōami was in the service of the Ashikaga shogunate and is cl ...

. In the later periods of Japanese garden history, fine stones were transported from a ruined or impoverished garden to a new one. According to the book ''Landscape design: A Cultural and Architectural History'' by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, "In 1474, following his retirement from the shogunate, Yoshimasa (1436-1490), had some of the stones and pine trees of the Flowery Palace and Muromachi Hall, both of which had been devastated by civil warfare, removed to his villa retreat at the base of Higashiyama (the Eastern Hills). There he lived from 1438 until his death, when the villa was converted to the Zen temple, Jisho-ji, or Ginkakuji (the Temple of the Silver Pavilion), as it is better known." The Zen culture is not entirely represented in this garden because it was financed by the shogunate as a retreat and the primary use was aesthetic enjoyment. Instead of being designed by and for the use of monks, practitioners of zazen, or seated meditation. Ginkakuji was constructed in relation to its surroundings. This is described in the ''Journal of Asian Studies'' by Ichito Ishida and Delmer M. Brown, "The southeast corner of the first floor has openings in the walls, since a pond is located on that corner of the building, beyond which the moon rises between the peaks of Higashiyama. And since a lake extending northeastward reflected light that suffices even for reading, the room on the northeast corner has been planned as a library. Therefore, the natural objects do not merely surround the building, twisting it out of shape but supply intrinsic motivation for the structural design." The sand garden of Ginkaku-ji has become particularly well known; and the carefully formed pile of sand which is said to symbolize

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

is an essential element in the garden.

Gallery

File:Ginkakuji01.jpg, Entrance way of the temple File:Ginkakuji04.jpg, Ginkaku-ji temple on a snowy day File:Ginkakuji 2012.jpg, View from the pond in autumn File:Ginkakuji Temple Togudo 2009 059.jpg, Tōgu-dō (1486), a

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

File:Ginkaku-ji, Togudo Hall, November 2016.jpg, Tōgudō in autumn File:Dry-sand Zen garden made of beige stripes a sunny day at Higashiyama Jisho-ji Buddhist temple Ginkaku-ji Kyoto Japan.jpg, ''Ginshadan'' File:Kyoto Silver Pavilion Pond.jpg, ''Kannon-den'' or ''"Kannon Bodhisattva Hall"'' File:Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto.jpg, Kōgetsudai

Notes

References

* * Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/ iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran">Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon.
' Paris: Royal Asiatic Society">Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. *

External links

Official Website

World History Encyclopedia - Ginkakuji
* {{coord, 35, 01, 36, N, 135, 47, 54, E, region:JP-26_type:landmark, display=title 1470s establishments in Japan 1474 establishments in Asia Buddhist temples in Kyoto Shokoku-ji temples World Heritage Sites in Japan National Treasures of Japan Special Historic Sites Special Places of Scenic Beauty Important Cultural Properties of Japan