Some of the most famous monuments and gardens of Japanese architecture we produced under the Muromachi period (1336-1573): the
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) , the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) and the Rock Garden of Ryoan ji . Despite (or perhaps as a result) of the devastating violence and wars that characterized this period, these gardens offer peace to the spirit and a truly moving beauty.
Silver Pavilion in winter. Photo C. Zeballos
THE MUROMACHI PERIOD When Ashikaga Takauji became shogun in 1336, he was the first of 15 shoguns in the Ashikaga family, seated in the Muromachi district in Kyoto, and that would rule Japan until 1568.
During this time Zen Buddhism flourished, spreading its influence not only on religious grounds but also in the arts and culture, developing fields such as architecture, ikebana , literature, poetry, Noh theater , tea ceremony and landscaping .
Feast during the Muromachi period. Source Wikipedia
It was also a time of religious tolerance, in which Buddhism coexisted peacefully with Shinto, while in Nagasaki Christianity entered rampant to Japan, especially led by the Catholic missionary
Francis Xavier .
However, it was the internal struggles of the feudal lords, or daimyō that led to absurd and bloody wars, especially the so-called war Ōnin (1467-1477), who in its attempt to control the symbolic capital ended up reducing Kyoto to ashes.
"The capital which we believed would flourish for ten thousand years has now become a lair for the wolves. Even the North Field of Toji has fallen to ash...Now the city that you know/ Has become an empty field, / From which the skylark rises /And your tears fall."
Hikorokusaemon-No-Jou, on the Ōnin war
The civil wars developed until 1573 when the daimyo Oda Nobunaga enters Kyoto defeating the Ashikaga clan, restoring peace and ending the hegemony Muromachi.
THE SILVER PAVILION.While the
Golden Pavilion , built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, represented the pinnacle of this era, the Silver Pavilion (1474), built by his grandson Ashikaga Yoshimasa marked the decline of the clan.
Located at the foot of the Higashiyama mountains, northeast of Kyoto, occupying an area 30 times larger than where now stands, at the end of what is now the Philosophy Path, the Ginkaku-ji was built as a resting place for Yoshimasa.
Layout of the Silver Pavilion.
It is ironic that on the eve of the outbreak of the war, the shogun Yoshimasa give his back to the capital and moved to this lavishing palace complex, and that while the population suffered from famine, destruction and death, he was enjoying watching the garden, enjoying tea, incense and other esoteric pleasures.
The palace complex would become a temple after Yoshimasa's death and it was called Jisho-ji (慈 照 寺) or Temple of the Shining Mercy. However, it became known as Ginkaku-ji, or Temple of the Silver Pavilion (银阁寺).
Silver Pavilion and pond panorama. C. Zeballos
Ginkaku or Kannon Hall.Despite its name, there is not any silver in the pavilion, since that the intention of Yoshimasa of covering it with this metal was never fulfilled, since the outbreak of war prevented it.
Hypothetical reconstruction of the Ginkakuji if it had been covered with a sheet of silver.
It is noteworthy that many Japanese prefer the current Silver Pavilion than the Golden one, as it represents the typical simplicity of Japanese architecture.
3D Image C.Zeballos
This is a very simple building, arranged in two levels, with curved roofs and topped by a phoenix made of brass.
Roof top image. 3D Image C. Zeballos
Its lower level, called
Shinkunda (Chamber of the empty heart) measures 6.7 m x 5.4 m and it is divided by movable panels that give flexibility to the interior space. The wooden sliding doors allow us to see a simple room of flat ceiling. Inside, they venerate the image of Jizo, the protector of children.
Layout of the first level. 3D Image by C. Zeballos
The room is surrounded by a railing and the walls have bell-shaped windows (3 in front of the pond and in the back and two on each side).
Layout of the second-level. 3D Image by C. Zeballos.
THE SHOIN STYLE
One of the main contributions of the Muromachi period to the Japanese residential architecture is the Shoin style. "Shoin" means "writing room" and has its origins in the rooms of the humble rooms of the monasteries, more modest than the structures of the Heian and Kamakura periods.
Hence, these rooms included furniture for writing .
The four characteristic elements of Shoin style are: recessed niches ( tokonoma ), staggered shelves, built -in desk and decorated doors.
The
Tōgudō room of Ginkaku-ji, a modest one-level structure with a roof of cypress bark, contains the oldest Shoin style of Japan.
THE GARDEN
It is impossible to understand the Silver Pavilion without also considering the surrounding mountains, nor without underscore the role that has the moon in its conception. The moon is a crucial element in the Japanese mentality, present in the visual arts and literature. Spiritual enlightenment in Zen Buddhism is often portrayed as a reflection of the moon on the water: the moon makes the surface visible and vice versa.
Silver Pavilion Pond in winter. Photo C. Zeballos
Higashiyama area, where the Ginkakuji stands, was reknown as a point for the contemplation of the moon even from the Heian period.
Ginkakuji on the mountains.
Facing the Ginkaku-ji, there is a pond where people use to contemplate the moon. Behind him is Tsukimachiyama Mountain (Mountain to wait for the moon). Yoshimasa wrote a poem about it:
"I love
my hut
at the foot of the mountain to wait for the moon
and the reflection
in the sky at sunset."
Ginshaden in winter. Photo C. Zeballos
For the first time in the history of Japanese landscaping sand is used only to represent elements such as water or mountains. The esplanade of sand that lies on the side of the pond, a plateau of 60 cm in height , is called
Ginshaden, and that means Silver Sand Sea, whose form is said to be modeled based on the shape of the West Lake in China. In fact, when the moon rises in the eastern mountains of Tsukimachi, the sea of sand seems to generate waves in the moonlight.
Images of Ginshanden or platform of sand. Photo C. Zeballos
In this area there is also a huge cone of sand of 1.80 m, which symbolizes the Mount Fuji, called
Kougetsu dai (Platform facing the moon), designed to accentuate the reflection of the moon in the sea of sand. It is said that, as seen from the second floor of the Ginkakuji, the cone resembles a full moon reflected on a silver sea.
Dai Kougetsu sand cone, also during maintenance. Photos C. Zeballos
But the most interesting aspect of the garden is the way it interacts and makes use of the mountain in its design, offering a view of the pavilion from above, together with all buildings, allowing nice views of the city of Kyoto.
Gingaku-ji seen from the mountain. Photo C. Zeballos
Finally, it is important to highlight the seasonal experience in the garden, which is always changing at different times of the year.
Gingaku-ji in autumn.
ACTUALIZACIÓN UPDATE
Yesterday I visited again the Ginkaku-ji and I was surprised to find that it was being restored.
It was a good opportunity to see the lightness of Japanese architecture, supported only by slender wooden columns and sliding wood panels.
SEE ALSO- JAPANESE GARDENS
