Here at the frontier, the leaves fall like rain. Although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, you are a thousand miles away, there are still two cups at my table.


Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.

~ Wu-men ~


Tuesday, January 03, 2006

The Golden Pavilion


Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple formally known as Rokuonji.

In 1397 construction started on the Golden Pavilion as part of a new residence for the retired shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkakuji was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimitsu's death in 1408.

The Golden Pavilion functions as a shrine, housing sacred relics of the Buddha and is covered in gold leaf.

The present building dates from 1955 as the pavilion was burnt by a fanatic monk in 1950. This act scandalized the country, and became the central episode of Yukio Mishima's novel, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.
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