Pure beauty in Kyoto - Reflection of the Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji

The story of today's Kinkaku-ji Temple from Kyoto starts in 1397, when the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu bought the land and started building a villa including the Kinkaku (Golden Pavilion), the garden and the pond surrounding it. After the shogun's death, the place was transformed into a Zen temple, Kinkaku-ji.

The pond and Kinkaku where designed so that they will create the perfect harmony, a reflection on earth of the Buddhist paradise. There are 10 islands in the pond (of which the largest one represents Japan) and because of the reflections on water, the pond is called "The Mirror" - Kyoko-chi. The view of the golden pavilion reflected on water together with all these islands is one of the most beautiful images from Kyoto - it does look, indeed, like the reflection of a paradise...