Kinkaku-ji

Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) is one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Kyoto.  This Zen Buddhist temple was established in 1397 during the Muromachi period by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.  The Golden Pavilion, which houses ashes of the Buddha, is covered in gold leaf, topped with a phoenix statue, and surrounded by a garden designed on the principles of Pure Land Buddhism.  The pavilion was burned down in 1950 by a mentally ill novice monk, and was rebuilt in 1955.  When I visited Kinkaku-ji last weekend, it was just beginning to snow, surprising most of the visitors.