Kinkaku-ji

The Golden Temple

The Kinkaku-ji, which in English means "Golden Temple", was built in 1397 in Kyoto, Japan. Originally, its purpose was to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It was his son who converted the building into a temple.

The whole temple except the basement floor is covered with pure gold, making the temple extremely valuable. The temple is therefore guarded night and day.

The temple is at the center of Yukio Mishima's 1956 book Kinkakuji (English title: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion).