暦応四年（西暦1341年）、足利尊氏が天龍寺の夢窓国師を開山にお迎えして、衣笠山の南麓に創建されたのが、この等持院である。
後に、尊氏・義詮将軍当時の幕府の地にあった等持寺もこちらに移されて、足利将軍家歴代の菩提所となった。
応仁の乱などの戦乱や火災に見舞われたが、豊太閤も、秀頼に建て直させたほど、この寺を重んじられたのである。
その後も移り変わりはあるが、等持院には、足利15代、230余年の歴史を語るだけの貴重な文化財が、今なお充分に保存されている。
Toujiin was established in 1341 on the southern slope of Mount Kinugasa by the shogun Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), with Zen master Muso Soseki (1275-1351) of Tenryuji designated as founding priest. From the time of Takauji, Toujiin has served as the family temple of the Ashikaga shoguns. This status was reinforced when another Ashikaga temple, Toujiji (located near the city center and closely associated with Takauji and his son Yoshiakira), was destroyed during the Onin War of 1467-77. Toujiin, too, was devastated by fire on several occasions, but each time was rebuilt by powerful supporters such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) and Toyotomi Hideyori (1593-1615), testifying to the high regard in which the temple has always been held. Toujiin continues to preserve many temple treasures and artworks from its 230-year association with the Ashikaga shoguns, making it a worthy stop during any visit to Kyoto.
現在の方丈（本堂）は、元和二年（1616年）福島正則が妙心寺塔頭海福院に建立し、文政元年（1818年）等持院に移築された古建築で、南庭をひかえた広縁を静かに歩むと、鶯張りの音がここちよく響く。
方丈の襖絵は狩野興以の作で、明治維新当時一部損壊し、更に映画の撮影所が等持院境内に出来て、方丈がロケに使用されたためにかなり破損したが、今日修復され、年一回の寺宝展で公開されている。
Toujiin's Hojo (Main Hall) was originally constructed in 1616 by the general Fukushima Masanori (1560-1628) on the grounds of Kaifuku-in, a sub-temple of the nearby monastery Myoshinji. The building was moved to its present location in 1818. The boards of the broad veranda on the Main Hall's south side are laid in such a way that when walked upon, they produce a distinct squeaking sound. This type of construction, known as uguisu-bari (nightingale floor) was designed in ancient times to signal the presence of intruders. The paintings on the Main Hall's fusuma (sliding screens) are by the noted artist Kano Koi (17th c.). They were damaged at the time of the Meiji restoration (1868) and also some years later when the Main Hall was used as a movie location, but they have since been restored and are on display once a year, along with other temple treasures.
足利尊氏公が日頃念持仏として信仰された利運地蔵尊（伝弘法大師作）を本尊として、達磨大師と夢窓国師とを左右に、足利歴代の将軍像（5代義量と14代義栄の像を除く）が、徳川家康の像と共に両側に安置されている。
家康の像は42才の厄除けの霊験を受けたもので、はじめ石清水八幡宮豊蔵坊にあったが、廃仏毀釈後に等持院に移され、本尊と共に利運を願う人たちに信仰されている。
The central image enshrined in the Reikoden (Hall of Sacred Light) is Riun Jizo Bosatsu (Good Fortune Jizo Bodhisattva). This was Ashikaga Takauji's favorite object of devotion, and is said to have been carved by the great Buddhist saint Kobo Daishi (774-835). The hall also displays images of the Indian monk Bodhidharma, the transmitter of Zen from India to China; Muso Soseki, founder of Toujiin; the fifteen shoguns of the Ashikaga clan, excepting the 5th shogun Yoshikazu and the 14th shogun Yoshihide; and Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Ieyasu's statue is said to date from his 42nd year, when he underwent a purification ritual at the great Shinto shrine Iwashimizu Hachimangu, located just south of Kyoto. Originally kept at the shrine, the image was relocated to Toujiin during the suppression of Buddhism that followed the Meiji Restoration.
この庭園は夢窓国師作として伝えられる。方丈の北庭の東の苑池である心字池（草書体の心の字をかたどって作られた池庭）のあたりの景色は幽邃で、かつて中ノ島には妙音閣があったが、現在は礎石でその面影を偲ぶことができる。
半夏生（三白草）が咲く夏至の頃のこの庭の風景も良い。
一方書院から望む西の芙蓉池は、古い木立で区切られ、蓮の花を形どった庭園に花木をあしらい草木を配し、石組も変化に富んでいる。尊氏公百年忌の長禄元年（1457年）に復興した際、庭園の中に清漣亭の茶室が新築され、義政好みとよばれた。
書院に坐して茶の香りを愛でながら眺めるこの庭を引き立てるのは、寒の頃から春先にかけ咲きはじめる有楽椿（侘助）、初夏のさつき、七月頃からのくちなしの花、初秋の芙蓉の花などで、それらが清漣亭の前庭の景色に彩りを添えている。
Toujiin's garden, located in the northern part of the temple precincts, is traditionally ascribed to Muso Soseki. The eastern section of the garden is a secluded area centering around a pond known as the Shinji-ike (Heart Character Pond), since it was designed to resemble the Chinese character for "heart". On the small island in the pond, there once stood a building known as the Myo-on-kaku (Pavilion of Wonderful Sounds); traces of this building can be seen in the remaining foundation stones. The Shinji-ike garden is at its best in midsummer, when the flowers known as hangesho (lizard's tail) come into blossom.
The section of the garden to the west, containing a pond known as the Fuyochi and best viewed from the Shoin hall, is laid out in the shape of a lotus flower. Partitioned by ancient hedges, the garden features flowering bushes set off by a variety of other plants and creative rock arrangements. When the garden was restored in 1457 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ashikaga Takauji's death, a teahouse known as the Seirentei was constructed just north of the Fuyochi Pond by the 8th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490). This section of the garden is best appreciated while sitting in the Shoin hall, enjoying the fragrance of tea and viewing the camellias in the winter and early spring, the azaleas in early summer, the gardenias in midsummer, and the rose mallows in early autumn.
方丈北の中央に尊氏の墓である宝筐印塔がある。
塔の台座は四面に立派な格挟間があり、宝瓶に蓮華を挿した紋様があって、室町時代の形を示している。
台座の正面に延文三年四月の文字がみられる。
Between the east and west sections of the garden is found the grave of Ashikaga Takauji, designed in the simple Muromachi-era hokyoin-to (Japanese pagoda) style. The large foundation stone features curved kouzama designs encompassing carvings of lotus flowers. On a higher stone, one can see Chinese characters reading "the 4th month of the 3rd year of the Enbun era [1358]."
方丈北背の小高いところに、茶室清漣亭がひっそりと落ちついた姿で建っており、控え目な侘しいたゝずまいを見せている。
村田珠光や相阿弥らと茶道を興じた義政の好みと伝える清漣亭は、上段一畳を貴人床とする二畳台目の席で、この上段一畳に坐して望む芙蓉池苑はまた格別である。
今は背後の建造物に遮られているが、当時段上の背後のある櫛型の窓を開けると、衣笠山の裾野ののびやかな姿が眺められたことであろうと偲ばれる。
On a low rise just north of the Main Hall stands the Seirentei (Clear Ripple Hut), a rustic teahouse with a quiet, reserved air. It was constructed in 1457 by the 8th shogun, Yoshimasa, who enjoyed having tea ceremonies here with friends such as the noted tea master Murata Juko (1422-1502) and the artist and poet Soami (d. 1525). The actual tearoom is built on two levels: a lower level that is two tatami mats in size, and a slightly raised upper level that is one tatami in size. The upper level, for high status guests, afforded excellent views of the Fuyochi Pond to the south and, through the arched window in the rear, of Mount Kinugasa to the north. The outlook to the north is presently blocked by buildings.
