Kinkakuji is a Zen temple located in northern Kyoto. It was built at the end of the 14th century by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate during the Muromachi period. It is a three-story square building, with top two floors covered in gold leaf. Each level of the building was built in a different historical architecture: The first floor was built in Shinden style, a manner of Heian period’s palatial architecture, with wood pillars and white plaster walls contrasting the golden upper stories of the pavillion; the second floor was built in Bukke style as a samurai’s residence; the third floor was built as a Chinese Zen hall. At the top of the temple stands a golden phoenix ornament.
There are not apparent motifs or iconography
There are not apparent motifs or iconography