Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺

Tempel of Silver Pavilion

Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple / japanischer Tempel

Sakyô-ku / Kyôto City

The two-storey building of the Jishô-ji (“Temple of Shining Mercy”), better known as Ginkaku-ji (“Temple of the Silver Pavilion”) was commissioned by Shôgun ASHIKAGA Yoshimasa at the end of the 15th century – as a spiritual world of peace and a refuge from civil war and the decaying capital. His intention to cover the pavilion with silver was forestalled by his death in 1490. Nevertheless, the building – downstairs living quarters, upstairs rooms for religious purposes – and the garden represent the pinnacle of art and craftsmanship of the time, but on the other hand also a doomed era.