japan-kyoto-kinkakuji

Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) is the common name of Rokuon-ji temple (temple of the imperial garden deer) located in Kyoto, Japan. This name is derived from Kinkaku ("Golden Pavilion"), coated with gold in the garden of the temple building.
history
The pavilion burned (1950)
The Chinese phoenix Fenghuang to the roof ridge

In the 1220s, the site houses the villa Kitayamadai Saionji Kintsune (1171-1244, Saionji clan leader who is part of a branch of the Fujiwara) and the Saionji temple, opened in 1224 after the decline of Saionji, the villa and temple are no longer maintained; only a mare remains that time.1.

Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), the third shogun Ashikaga, abdicated in 1394 to make way for his son Yochimochi. Three years later, in 1397, he bought the site Saionji clan and began to build a new villa, Kitayamaden, doing his best to make it an exceptional place to house several Buddhist relics. He lived until his death. After his death and according to his wishes, his son Yochimochi actually a Zen temple of the Rinzai school.

The temple was burned down several times during the Ōnin War (1467-1477) and only the Golden Pavilion survived. The garden, however, kept its appearance at the time.

In 1950, the Golden Pavilion was completely burned by a mentally deficient monk; this event is central to the novel by Yukio Mishima, The Golden Pavilion. The current building, rebuilt exactly, in 1955.

In 1987, he renovated and given a new layer, five times thicker than gold leaf. It seems that the new layer of gold leaf were coated with a lacquer-based urushiol (the oil produced by poison ivy), thereby preserving the gold layer against the elements. This lacquer was once used to protect different things used by humans, such as weapons, artwork, household items and even furniture.

In 1994, the Golden Pavilion is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
architecture
Detail of second floor

The Golden Pavilion (kinkaku?), Located in the garden made ​​the famous temple. The entire building is covered with pure gold, with the exception of the ground floor. It serves shariden containing relics of Buddha.

From an architectural point of view, this is a harmonious and elegant building which includes three different types of architecture:

     the (Hō-sui-in) ground floor is Shinden-zukuri style, the style of the palace of the Heian period.
     The first stage (Chō-on-dō) follows the Buke-zukuri style houses samurai.
     The second floor (Kukkyō-chō) is Karayō style, that of Zen temples.
source : fr.wikipidia