Common nickname of the
Rokuonji, a
buddhist temple in
Kyoto. It refers to the
golden Pavilion (kinkaku) which is the most famous building of the Temple. It is a 3-storied
pagoda which is completely covered with
gold leaf, twenty kilograms altogether. It stands next to a small lake, and the view of the pavilion across the lake and its reflection, in splendid weather, is probably what I will remember as the most beautiful thing I saw in my 1-year stay in
Japan.
The Pavilion was built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 3rd shogun of the Muromachi era, in 1397 after he abdicated to devote his life to religion. After his death, it became a buddhist temple.
The pavilion we see today is actually a reconstruction, since the original one was destroyed on the 3rd of July 1950 by a fire which a mentally disturbed young buddhist monk had set off.