ARCHITECTUREJAPAN
The Shariden (Golden Pavilion) reflected in Kyōko-chi Pond

Temples · Historic Buildings

Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji)鹿苑寺（金閣寺）

Location
Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto (Kita Ward)
Shariden rebuilt
1955

Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Overview

A golden reliquary hall mirrored in Kyōko-chi Pond. The quintessence of Kitayama culture.

A temple of the Shōkoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen, originating as Kitayama-dono, the mountain villa of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, third shōgun of the Muromachi shogunate. The gold-leaf-covered Shariden (Golden Pavilion) has a distinctive composition that stacks the shinden, samurai-residence and Zen styles storey by storey.

The Shariden was destroyed by arson in 1950 and rebuilt in 1955. In 1994 it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site as a component of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto".

This description has been translated from the Japanese original.

Official website

03

Data

Only verified information is shown.

Shariden rebuilt
1955
Use
Buddhist temple
Location
1 Kinkakujichō, Kita Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Founded
1397 (construction of Kitayama-dono begun)
Inscribed as World Heritage
1994
Category
TemplesHistoric BuildingsKyoto

05

Location

1 Kinkakujichō, Kita Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture

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Sources

References

08

Photo Credits

Image sources, authors and licences

  • 01Water reflection of Kinkaku-ji Temple a sunny day, Kyoto, Japan.jpg

    Photo: Basile Morin

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 02Golden Pavilion Kinkaku-ji water mirror 2024.jpg

    Photo: Nacaru

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 03Kinkaku-ji in November 2016 -02.jpg

    Photo: Martin Falbisoner

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 04Shariden, Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto, North View 20190416 1.jpg

    Photo: DXR

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 05Water reflection of Kinkaku-ji Temple, side view, a cloudy day, Kyoto, Japan.jpg

    Photo: Basile Morin

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • Photos have been resized and colour-graded for consistent display. Adapted CC BY-SA photos may be reused under the same licence terms.