Kinkaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji, formally named Rokuon-ji, is a Zen Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto best known by its nickname: the Golden Pavilion. The top two of its three floors are covered entirely in gold leaf, and on a still day the building's reflection sits almost perfectly on the surface of the pond in front of it, Kyoko-chi ("mirror pond").

The pavilion began life not as a temple but as a retirement villa built for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in the late 14th century. Following his death, his son converted the estate into a Zen temple in accordance with his wishes, and it has remained one ever since — each of its three floors built in a different architectural style, reflecting influences from imperial court design, samurai residences, and Zen temple halls.

The building visitors see today dates only to 1955. The original structure was burned down in 1950 by a young monk, an event later fictionalized in Yukio Mishima's novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. The current reconstruction faithfully rebuilt the original design, and it remains one of Kyoto's most-visited sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the city's Historic Monuments.