Ginkakuji Temple- The Silver Pavilion in Kyoto
The Ginkakuji 銀閣寺is a Zen temple along the eastern mountains of Kyoto (Higashiyama). In 1482, the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa on the grounds of the current temple, modeling it after the Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), his grandfather’s retirement villa at the base of the mountains north of Kyoto (Kitayama). The village (Ginkakuji) became a Zen temple after Yoshimasa’s death in 1490.
Despite its name (“ gin “ means “ silver “) the Ginkakuji was never covered in silver. Instead, the name is believed to have emerged as a nickname more than a century after the building’s construction to contrast it with the Kinkakuji or Golden Pavilion. Alternatively, it is explained that the moonlight reflecting off the building’s dark exterior (which used to be covered in black lacquer in the past) gave it a silvery appearance.
As the retirement villa of an art-obsessed shogun, Ginkakuji became a center of contemporary culture, known as the Higashiyama Culture in contrast to the Kitayama Culture of his grandfather’s day. Unlike the Kitayama Culture, which remained limited to Kyoto’s aristocratic circles, the Higashiyama Culture had a wide impact throughout the country. The arts developed and refined over time include the tea ceremony, flower arranging, Noh theater, poetry, garden design, and architecture.
