Roof of Kyoto's Kinkaku-ji re-thatched

Dec 30, 2020 | News On Japan

Dec 30, 2020 (NHK) - Kinkaku-ji, a renowned golden temple in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, has a brand new roof as re-thatching work was done for the first time in 18 years.

Also known as Temple of the Golden Pavilion, it was opened to the media on Tuesday after the four-month work was completed the previous day. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Workers replaced 100,000 wooden boards covering the roof of about 320 square meters with new ones. The brown color of the roof appeared brighter after the work.

A total of 10,000 gold leaves were used to repair the bird-shaped ornament on the rooftop and some other parts of the temple.

The temple dates back more than 600 years and the current pavilion structure was rebuilt in 1955. The roof has since been re-thatched about once every 20 years.

A temple official expressed hope that the coronavirus pandemic will end as soon as possible, and people will come to see the refurbished temple.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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