Photo/Illutration Kinkakuji, formally known as Rokuonji, in Kyoto’s Kita Ward, originally served as a retirement villa for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, a shogun and prominent patron of the arts. In accordance with his will, it was converted into a Zen temple after his death in 1408. (Photo by Lisa Vogt)

In a city brimming with ancient temples, tranquil gardens (well, some are) and rich cultural heritage lies perhaps the most famous of all, at the top of every must-visit list when in Kyoto: the shimmering Golden Pavilion, Kinkakuji temple.

That’s actually a nickname. The Zen temple’s official name is Rokuonji, which literally means deer garden temple.

Somehow, I associate deer with Sento-kun (the mascot of Nara Prefecture) but never mind. It’s one of 17 places that make up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto among UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

To be clear, Kinkakuji is a three-story pavilion on the grounds of the Rokuonji temple complex. I don’t mean any disrespect, but the architecture is a bit like Tsutenkaku in Osaka--the Eiffel Tower atop the Arc de Triomphe with radial roads extending from its base.

Let me explain. The first floor of the pavilion dates from the Heian Period (794-1185) and was built in shinden-zukuri style with unpainted wood and plaster.

The second is made in the style of samurai aristocrats, or buke-zukuri, and the third is historically Chinese: zenshu-butsuden-zukuri and topped with a shiny phoenix ornament.

The top two stories are covered with gold-leaf plating--all that glitters is gold! Both the Osaka and Kyoto works of architectural wonder leave visitors awestruck, although perhaps in a different sense.

Kinkakuji was tragically burned down not once but twice--a fiery fate, indeed. The first was during the Onin no Ran war, which lasted from 1467-77, and the second was in 1950 by a fanatical monk with such a burning passion for the pavilion’s magnificence that he had to set it ablaze.

There’s a best-selling semi-fictional novel written by Yukio Mishima (1925-70) based on this incident.

The temple’s interior is not open to the public, and visitors are only permitted to admire it from various vantage points in the kaiyu-shiki-teien, a landscape garden with meandering clockwise paths around a lake, in a style that was popular in the Muromachi Period (1336-1573).

If you’ve visited Kinkakuji, I’m sure you, alongside a herd of other tourists, took a captivating snapshot of the temple from the edge of Kyokochi, or mirror pond. From that angle, it’s as if nature itself conspires to magnify the temple’s splendor. It’s utter perfection.

The admission fee for adults and high school students was raised to 500 yen ($3.38) from 400 yen on April 1. At the entrance, visitors can receive a goshuin, or a red stamp that certifies a visit to a shrine or temple. Don’t miss it. It’s priceless.

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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the July 16 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series "Lisa’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan," which depicts various sites of outstanding universal value across the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University.

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