The Shoukokuji Jotenkaku Museum is an art museum located in the grounds of Shokoku-ji Temple, number two of the Kyoto five mountains Zen Temples. Founded in 1392, by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, Shokoku-ji Temple is said to have taken about ten years to build. During its 600-year history it has continually been the cultural center of Kyoto and it has hosted leading figures of the Gozan literary school as well as artisan monks, who trained here and handed down the art of calligraphy, painting and ceramic sculpture of tea utensils.
Since 1984, the temple houses the Jotenkaku Museum and its collection that includes five national treasures and 144 important cultural assets, entrusted to the museum by the Shokoku-ji, the Rokuon-ji, the Jisho-ji and sub-temples.
The works housed by the museum have a significant historical value and its beauty is easily recognised by visitors, however those with a knowledge of the Japanese language, the history of Japan and the history of calligraphy would undoubtedly appreciate these objects even more.
