Kinkaku-ji's history dates to 1397, when the villa was purchased from the Saionji family by shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and transformed into the Kinkaku-ji complex.
Kinkaku-ji's historie dateres tilbage til 1397, da villaen blev købt fra Saionji-familien af shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu og omdannet til Kinkaku-ji-komplekset.