Kinkaku-ji Temple (The Golden Pavilion) Kyoto

Kinkaku-ji Temple, “The Golden Pavilion”, breathtaking in its golden glory.

Excerpt from my article Kyoto Japan – the Iconic Lady (All Ways Traveller)   www.allwaystraveller.com/online

‘ Another luminous example of antiquity is the Golden Pavilion or Kinkauji from the period when there were no cameras to capture its golden glory reflected in the still waters of the Magic Pond or Kyoko-chi.  The tourist pictures do little justice to the real structure and a visitor can just gawk at the play of colors, burnt amber, fiery reds, vivid yellows, amidst the surrounding foliage of Kinugasa-yama Mountains in the background.  The eight different sized islands or famous rocks in the Pond personify the Buddhist scriptures ‘Land of Happiness’ and for the harried visitor a natural stress buster.  Hayashi Yoken, a recalcitrant monk, had burnt down the Pavilion in 1950 and the present Golden Pavilion is a replica of the original, with extra gold added to the two floors.

I walked around the Japanese Garden, retained in its original form, with natural springs, moss gardens, waterfalls and bridges, the Dadoniji Stones, try plunking coins in the stone bowls for luck, the Sekka-tei tea house and the Fudo Myo, a mini temple in honor of the god of fire and wisdom. The bushes around the temple, ornamented with tiny pieces of paper containing wish-fulfillment messages, are the links between past and present.’

Weekly Photo Challenge….Yellow