Familiar to the locals as the Hydrangea Temple, Ryugozan Senkoji is a Buddhist temple of the Soto sect. Follow Yamabe-michi, the former Hita Highway, in the Miyazono district, and you’ll find this temple at the entrance to the northern foot of Mount Mino. It was established in 1192 by Rinzai sect founder Zenji Eizai (also known as Senko Kokushi) at the invitation of Nagahira Kusano, the provincial governor of Chikugo. In 1420, this temple received an imperial scroll assigning it the honorific mountain name, Ryugozan. Said to have been written by Emperor Gokomatsu, this inscription was meant to ward off disaster. Within the temple grounds is a temple bell, inscribed with the characters for “Northern Court”, designated a Cultural Asset by Fukuoka Prefecture. Visitors will also find memorial towers for Kusano warlords Nagatsune, Nagahira and Shigenaga, as well as feudal lord Tadamasa Tanaka. Behind this temple lies the mausoleum and grave of Imperial Prince Kaneyoshi, a shogun of the Western Court. When the hydrangea bloom in early summer, visitors can feast their eyes upon 7000 of these bushes at the annual Hydrangea Festival.