Kinkaku-ji is located in Kinkakuji-cho, Kita-ku, in the northwestern corner of Kyoto. It is a beautiful area, with the mountains Kinugasayama to the west and Hidari Daimonjiyama behind it.

Kinkaku-ji’s Relics Hall (Shariden), commonly known as the Golden Pavilion, is so well known that the entire temple has come to be called Kinkaku-ji, but the temple’s official name is Rokuon-ji.

It was named after the third Ashikaga shogun Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) and was part of his private Kitayama villa.

The gardens of Japanese temples reflect the Buddhist worldview, as do the temple buildings. Simply by visiting a temple and experiencing its environment, one comes into contact with the teachings of Buddhism in a form even more convincing than sermons or lectures on Buddhist doctrine.