The garden belongs to a Zen temple of the Shokoku-ji school (the Rinzai sect), and is representative of the Higashiyama culture. It was built in 1339 modeled after a garden at Saiho-ji, made by Muso Soseki. The garden has Tsukiyama (artificial hills) and ponds, with mountains, called “Tsukimachi-yama” and “Daimonji-yama” in the background.
cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments
type : places of special scenic beauty, special historical sites
2 Ginkakujichō, Sakyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 606-8402
Tel：075-771-5725
This is a Zen-temple garden that belongs to the Shokoku-ji school of the Rinzai sect and an excellent example of the Higashiyama culture. This is a garden of a mountain villa known as Higashiyama-dono. The villa was built by the 8th Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa of the Muromachi Shogunate for his retirement, following the example of Kitayama-dono Kinkaku Rokuon-ji, built by the 3rd Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The garden is said to have been modeled after the garden of Saiho-ji designed by Muso Soseki in 1339.
The garden consists of upper and lower levels: A stroll garden with a pond is located on the ground level and a Karesansui (dry landscape) garden on the back hill. The stroll garden has a pond called “Kinkyochi” at the center, and Ginkaku and Togu-do are situated on both sides of the pond. The landscape of these gardens was significantly altered during the renovation in the early Edo Period.
The key garden components are Ginshadan and cone-shaped Kogetsu-dai created from white sand. It is believed that Ginshadan, which depicts the scene of waves at Lake Seiko in China, and Kogetsu-dai, formed to resemble Mt. Fuji, were made with moonlight reflections in mind.