Kinkauji

Recently I've been focusing on Japanese food, but today I want to write about something a little bit more cultural.
It's known as "Kinkakuji " ( Kinkakuji temple,the golden pavilion) but the real name is "Hokuzan-Rokuonji".
In 1994 it became a world heritage site.It's located in the north-western  part of Kyoto city.It was built in 1397 by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Kinkakuji is very beautiful and shiny because of the extensive gold foil plating and urushi (Japanese lacquer work).
The pavilion was built within a large Japanese garden setting,on the edge of large pond,so to see it with it's reflection on the still surface of the pond is one of the most loved scenes by Japanese and tourists alike.

Of course we have to buy an admission ticket before entering,a brochure is always included in the ticket price.

Brochure and admission ticket

Unfortunately the current Kinkakuji  is not the original one.The original was a set a light and burned to the ground by a firebug in 1955.But the brochure never tells tragic story of it's true story.

The culprit was a very young novice monk,who was sickly and prone to mental illness.He was arrested but he passed away in his cell in 1956 due to illness.
Needless to say this was a huge incident because Japan lost a priceless national treasure.
But Kinkakuji was rebuilt according to the original plan.Luckily the plan had been written in detail because Kinkakuji had been renovated many times.

If you are interested in this incident,I recommend the novel "Kinkakuji" written by Yukio Mishima(1925-1970).The novel is not perfect fiction but it was based on the true story and written from the culprit's perspective.