Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

The History of Kinkaku-ji
▶ Location
Yoshimitsu was born in 1358 (the third year of the Enbun era) as the second Ashikaga shogun Yoshiakira’s son, with Yoko, daughter of Tsuikiyo of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, as his mother. He was given the childhood name Haruo.

In the first year of the Kōan era, when conflicts between the Northern and Southern Courts were still raging, Yoshimitsu was only three years old when Kusunoki Masanori, Hosokawa Kiyouji, and others launched a massive attack on Kyoto, and the shogun Yoshiakira fled to Ōmi Province. Yoshimitsu was carried away by a retainer and fled to the care of Ranshū Ryōhō at Kennin-ji Temple. The monk Ryōhō placed monk’s robes over Yoshimitsu and sheltered him for five days, then secretly sent him to Akamatsu Norisuke at Shirahata Castle in Banshū. The following year, Yoshimitsu safely returned to Kyoto.

In 1367 (the sixth year of the Jōji era), Yoshimitsu received the robe of transmission from the then abbot, Shun’oku Myōha, at Tenryū-ji. Shun’oku Myōha and his disciple Gidō Shūshin became Yoshimitsu’s unwavering spiritual support throughout his life.

That same year his father Yoshiakira died of illness, and the following year Yoshimitsu succeeded to the shogunate at the age of eleven. According to his father’s will, Kanrei Hosokawa Yoriyuki supported the young shogun, helping to raise Yoshimitsu into an accomplished ruler while also working to enhance the authority of the shogunate.

After succeeding to the shogunate at age eleven, Yoshimitsu, with the support of Hosokawa Yoriyuki, brought the powerful regional shugo lords under control and firmly established his position as shogun. Then, in 1371 (the fourth year of the Ōan era), he completed the Muromachi Residence under construction in Muromachi Kitakōji and moved the shogunate there. A large pond was dug and water was drawn in from the Kamo River, while flowers of all four seasons were planted in the garden and reportedly bloomed in splendid profusion. Seeing this, people called it the “Palace of Flowers.”

At this time, the Northern and Southern Courts remained divided, though thanks to the efforts of Hosokawa Yoriyuki and others, signs of unification were finally beginning to appear.

▶ The Name
Kinkaku-ji is commonly called by that name because the Shariden, the Golden Pavilion, is so famous, but its proper name is Rokuon-ji. It originated from Kitayama-dono, the villa built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third Ashikaga shogun. It belongs to the Rinzai sect Shokoku-ji school. The name Rokuon is derived from Yoshimitsu’s posthumous Buddhist name, Rokuon-in-dono, and refers to Deer Park, the site where Shakyamuni first preached.

▶ Founding
Kinkaku-ji, together with Ginkaku-ji, is a Zen temple beloved by many visitors. Both temples are sub-temples located outside the precincts of Shokoku-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple, and both regard the same Musō Kokushi as their honorary founding abbot along with the main temple Shokoku-ji. Today, the head priest of Shokoku-ji also serves as the head priest of both temples, while the abbots of the sub-temples manage their operation.

▶ Before Yoshimitsu
The place name Kitayama is said to date back to the Heian period. During that era, temples such as Reigan-ji, Kōryū-ji, and Hōon-ji were built there. There were also many burial mounds, including imperial tombs, and it was a place where cremation was performed. The land later came under the control of the Saionji family, which flourished in the Kamakura period, and Kintsune Saionji established a magnificent villa called “Kitayama-dono.” However, as the Kamakura shogunate fell, the Saionji family lost its power, and with their decline Kitayama-dono also fell into ruin. Yoshimitsu Ashikaga received this Kitayama-dono and built Kitayama-dono on the site.

▶ The Saionji Family
The Saionji family originally descended from the Northern Fujiwara line and was not especially prominent at first. However, by the time of Saionji Kintsune, the family suddenly rose to a central position in the imperial court, and its power surpassed that of the regent families of the time. Around this period, probably about 1220, Kintsune, having taken note of the site of today’s Kinkaku-ji grounds, conceived the idea of building a Saion-ji temple as the family temple. He proposed an exchange of this land with his own estate, Matsueda Manor in Owari Province, to the owner, the Jimyōin branch of the family, and brought the arrangement to fruition. Since no historical records remain regarding the construction at that time, the exact appearance is unknown, but it is known that a grand dedication ceremony was held in 1224 (the first year of the Jōgen era), and that the following year Fujiwara no Teika saw Saion-ji/Kitayama-dono for the first time. According to Teika, its atmosphere was unprecedentedly fresh, and he was especially astonished by the waterfall, 45 shaku high, and the pond, as beautiful as if it contained lapis lazuli. Saion-ji/Kitayama-dono, built by Kintsune with Fujiwara no Michinaga’s magnificent Hōjō-ji in mind and even aiming to surpass it, was called a paradise on earth, a pure land on this shore. But as the times changed, the Saionji family sadly declined, and Saion-ji/Kitayama-dono likewise fell into ruin. (Of the remains from that time, only the pond survives.)

▶ The Age of Yoshimitsu
Yoshimitsu built the Muromachi Residence in Muromachi and moved the shogunate there. It came to be called the Palace of Flowers and became the political center. He also devoted himself to Zen practice under the Zen master Shun’oku Myōha, a disciple of Musō Kokushi, and conceived the idea of building a temple, so he erected Shokoku-ji next to the shogunate. Around this Shokoku-ji center, Gozan literature emerged, and the area flourished as a cultural center as well. Yet Yoshimitsu was still not satisfied, so he began a major renovation of the neglected Kitayama-dono and constructed Kitayama-dono there. The Shariden within it is the Golden Pavilion; the first floor housed a triad of Shakyamuni, the second floor was Kannon Hall, and the third floor contained Buddha relics. Afterwards, events that had previously been held at Muromachi-dono were moved to Kitayama-dono, and its functions were transferred there. Yoshimitsu, who launched trade with Ming China, welcomed Ming envoys at Kitayama-dono. The various forms of Chinese culture obtained in this way were gathered and became the foundation of Kitayama culture.

After Yoshimitsu’s death, Kitayama-dono lost its status as the shogun’s residence, but by Yoshimitsu’s will it became a Zen temple, and from Yoshimitsu’s posthumous Buddhist name, Rokuon-in-dono, it came to be called Rokuon-ji. The early history of Rokuon-ji is not known in great detail.

▶ Yoshimitsu and the Golden Pavilion
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, transferred the shogunate to his nine-year-old son Yoshimochi in 1394 (the first year of the Ōei era), and the following year he himself entered the priesthood at the young age of 38. Yoshimitsu had experienced many hardships since losing his father Yoshiakira at the age of nine, but he also succeeded in unifying the Northern and Southern Courts. As peace was restored to the realm, it is believed that he wished to leave public life and act with greater freedom.

Having inherited the ruined Saion-ji/Kitayama-dono, Yoshimitsu began construction in 1397 (the fourth year of Ōei) to develop it into the villa Kitayama-dono. Both the garden and the buildings were crafted with the utmost refinement, but the most especially elaborate feature was the Shariden, or Golden Pavilion. In 1408 (the fifteenth year of Ōei), Yoshimitsu held a grand banquet in honor of Emperor Go-Komatsu’s visit, an event known as the Kitayama Imperial Visit and remembered to this day. Yoshimitsu lived here until his death at the age of 51. After his death, Yoshimochi invited Musō Kokushi as the temple’s founding priest, and it was then first named Rokuon-ji.

▶ After Yoshimitsu
Many Zen temples that had been under the protection of the shogunal family fell into financial hardship as the authority of the shogunate declined. With the outbreak of the Ōnin War, many Zen temples, including the main temple Shokoku-ji, were attacked and burned, and Rokuon-ji also suffered damage; however, the Golden Pavilion, the Seki Fudō-dō, and the Gomadō were spared from destruction. Thereafter, the history of the fifteen generations of the Ashikaga shoguns came to an end, and after the turbulent Azuchi-Momoyama period, peace was brought about under Tokugawa Ieyasu.

▶ The Edo Period
Under Tokugawa Ieyasu’s orders, the abbot appointed to Rokuon-ji was Saishō Jōtai. Monk Saishō was heavily relied upon as a political adviser by both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was known as the “black-robed prime minister.” Through Saishō Jōtai, Rokuon-ji secured its economic foundation, and thereafter it has been handed down through Saishō’s dharma lineage.

▶ The Meiji Period
In the Meiji era, Rokuon-ji lost its patron and its economic base. It also endured various hardships, including the anti-Buddhist persecution and haibutsu kishaku, but through the efforts of successive head priests it overcame these difficulties and has been preserved. It first began admitting visitors in 1894, initiated by the then head priest, Kansū Chōrō, when the “Kyōshinkai” (now an exposition) was held in Osaka.

▶ Visiting
Unlike the gardens of Christian churches, the gardens of Buddhist temples are grounded in a Buddhist view of the world, and together with the halls, pagodas, and temple precincts, they express that worldview. By visiting the temple and immersing oneself in its surroundings, one can experience the Buddhist world with a persuasiveness even greater than that of sermons or lectures.

With Japan’s remarkable postwar economic growth, more and more visitors began coming to Kinkaku-ji. Through these visits, many people around the world have had the opportunity to learn about Zen and Zen culture, and its value has been recognized. Kinkaku-ji’s visitor program has become established as a distinctive means of propagation, thanks to the efforts of the people involved with Kinkaku-ji in each era and the achievements of its long history.