The Saionji Clan

The Saionji clan was part of the northern branch of the Fujiwaras, and at first was not particularly influential. With the appearance of Saionji Kintsune, who became a central figure in the imperial court, the power of the clan grew so strong that it eclipsed that of the regent. At about this time (probably the 1220s), Kintsune decided to build a clan temple on the site of the present Kinkaku-ji. The land belonged to the head of the Office of Shinto Worship, who accepted Kintsune's offer of an exchange of the property for a manor in Matsue, Owari Province. No documents concerning the construction of the temple survive, so it is impossible to know what it looked like, but we know that a magnificent dedication ceremony was held in 1224 and that the following year the poet Fujiwara Teika (also, Sadaie, 1162-1241) visited Saion-ji and Kitayamadai for the first time. According to Teika, the design was remarkably novel. He was particularly impressed by the forty-five-foot waterfall and a beautiful pond as blue as lapis lazuli. Recalling but also surpassing Fujiwara Michinaga's (966-1027) symbol of personal glory, Hôjô-ji, Kintsune's Saion-ji and Kitayamadai were described by contemporaries as resembling the realm of Taoist Immortals or the Pure Land. But with the drastic decline of the Saioinji family, Saion-ji and Kitayamadai also fell into disrepair. The only surviving trace of the former structures is the pond.