Page 199 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

garden facing the fabled
s " pavilion. An exact replica
Kinkaku-ji (Golden of the original, which was
Did You Know? Pavilion) des troyed by arson in 1950
When Kyoto was 金閣寺 (an event dramatized in Yukio
founded, Buddhist  B2 ⌂ 1 Kinkakujicho, Mishima’s novel The Temple of
temples were banned Kita-ku § (075) 461-0013 the Golden Pavilion), the three-
from the city. @ 12 or 59 to Kinkaku-ji- story structure is covered in
gold leaf and topped by a
mae; 101, 102, 204, 205 to bronze phoenix.
Kinkaku-ji-michi # 9am–
5pm daily Mount Kinugasa serves as
a backdrop to the stroll-type
Heian statesman Sugawara no A glimmering legacy of garden. The harmonious inter-
Michizane, or Tenjin-san, the medieval Japan, Kinkaku-ji play of its various components
deity of learning. Michizane’s (formal name Rokuon-ji) is makes it a superb example
favorite tree, the plum (ume), known as the Golden Pavilion. of Muromachi-period land-
is found throughout the It was built by the third scaping. Both pavilion and
grounds. On the 25th of Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu garden are especially
each month, the shrine is the (1358–1408), who, relinquish- exquisite after a snowfall.
site of a bustling flea market, ing his official duties (but not
selling everything from Imari his hold on power), entered
porcelains to nylon stockings. the priesthood at the age of PICTURE PERFECT
Kamishichi-ken, an ochaya 37. The temple originally Going for Gold
(teahouse) and bar-lined street served as his retirement villa. Arrive at the Golden
running from Kitano Tenman- A fervent follower of the Zen Pavilion as soon as it
gu to Imadegawa-dori, is priest Soseki, Yoshimitsu opens and head straight
Kyoto’s smallest, but oldest directed that the finished to the pond to get a shot
geiko (geisha) district. On complex become a temple of its golden silhouette
February 25 the geiko conduct after his death, with Soseki reflected in the water.
a tea ceremony in the shrine’s as its superior. Use the surrounding
orchard, and perform dances The approach to the temple maple trees to frame
for the public every spring is along a tree-shaded path, your shot.
and fall at the local theater. which emerges into a bright

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