Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) is a Zen temple along Kyoto's eastern mountains. In 1482, shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa on the grounds of today's temple, modeling it after the Golden Pavilion, his grandfather's retirement villa at the base of Kyoto's northern mountains. The villa was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimasa's death in 1490.At the entrance to the garden is this dry sand garden, known as the "Sea of Silver Sand," with a massive sand cone named "Moon Viewing Platform."