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Listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1994, Kinkaku-ji (Temple of
the Golden Pavilion) is the popular name of Rokuon-ji (Deer Park Temple),
a temple dedicated to the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, Kannon. The land
was first a mountain getaway for Saionji Kitsune (1171-1244) and included
both a temple and a villa. The estate withered away and became the property
of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), the third shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate,
who built Kitayamaden as a retirement estate in 1398. After his death
in 1419, the grounds were turned into a Buddhist temple for the Rinzai
sect and Muso Kokushi was appointed abbot as per Yoshimitsu's will. The
name Rokuon comes from Yoshimitsu's Buddhist name.
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