The site of Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa called Kitayama-dai, belonging to a powerful statesman, Saionji Kintsune. 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. When Yoshimitsu died the building was converted into a Zen temple by his son, according to his wishes.

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The Golden Pavilion is a three-story building on the grounds of the Rokuon-ji temple complex. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf.The pavilion functions as a sheriden, housing relics of the Buddha. The building was an important model for Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion Temple) and Shōkoku-ji, which are also located in Kyoto. When these buildings were constructed, Ashikaga Yoshimasa employed the styles used at Kinkaku-ji and even borrowed the names of its second and third floors

Construction began under the rule of Daimyō Kuroda Yoshitaka in 1587, when he was made the governor of the region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for his help in the Kyūshū Campaign. Yoshitaka was rewarded with greater lands in Fukuoka after the Battle of Sekigahara and was replaced by Daimyō Hosokawa Tadaoki, who completed the construction.

Tadaoki moved to Kokura Castle, when it was built, and Nakatsu castle was given to his son Hosokawa Tadatoshi. The castle was taken over by the Ogasawara clan and subsequently by the Okudaira Clan in 1717. It was abandoned in 1871 after the Meiji Restoration and the structure was destroyed in a fire during the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877.

The present castle was built in 1964 by the descendants of the Okudaira samurai clan and was modeled on Hagi Castle.

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​The total area of the castle grounds is about 78,000 sq. m and the structure was built in the shape of an open fan. The castle is bordered by a traditional stone wall and a moat. The building is a steel-frame five-storied structure, and the top floor is an observation deck.