, or formally is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. History The original Kinkaku-ji was built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as part of his estate then known as Kitayama. It was his son, shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down twice during the Ōnin War. On July 2, 1950, at 2:30 am, the pavilion was burned down by a monk named Hayashi Yoken, who then attempted suic… (More on Kinkaku-ji)