Wonders of the World

079 - Kinkaku-ji of Kyoto and the Start of the Ashikaga Shogunate


Listen Later

Its gold walls reflected in the pond at its feet, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji, is glorious in any season. It was originally the retirement villa of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, former shogun and patron of the arts.

How Yoshimitsu was able to be shogun is a story from some decades before, a story of betrayal, revolutions, and lots of samurai warriors committing ritual suicide.

Listener Jaime discussing seeing the temple in various seasons, as well as the experience of visiting Kyoto itself. Also, somehow Drew makes it through an entire episode on Kyoto only mentioning geisha once, and that's in the opening song lyrics.  They make up for it with all the good food, including okonomiyagi, "Japanese pancakes".

NB: Drew makes an important announcement at the end of the episode.

Sources:

Dougill, John. Japan’s World Heritage SitesMiller, David. Samurai WarriorsMilner, Rebecca. Lonely Planet Japan

Photograph by Pedro Szekely

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Wonders of the WorldBy Caroline Vahrenkamp

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

311 ratings


More shows like Wonders of the World

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

44,008 Listeners

The Ancient World by Scott C.

The Ancient World

1,834 Listeners

Emperors of Rome by La Trobe University

Emperors of Rome

1,536 Listeners

Our Fake History by PodcastOne

Our Fake History

3,461 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,691 Listeners

Literature and History by Doug Metzger

Literature and History

1,384 Listeners

Ancient Greece Declassified by Dr. Lantern Jack

Ancient Greece Declassified

492 Listeners

Tides of History by Wondery /  Patrick Wyman

Tides of History

6,299 Listeners

The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong by Mark Chrisler

The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong

864 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,101 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,067 Listeners

Everything Everywhere Daily by Gary Arndt

Everything Everywhere Daily

2,038 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,362 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

1,987 Listeners

Search Engine by PJ Vogt

Search Engine

4,369 Listeners