Kitano Tenmangu Shrine was constructed in 1054. The shrine was founded when Archbishop Teisen (grandson of the chief advisor to the Emporer at that time, Fujiwara no Michitaka) dedicated a portion of the tutelary deity from the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto (Sugawara no Michizane) to this area. A flower that is related with Michizane is the plum blossom. Cross the sacred bridge and pass under the glossy, bright red “sakura” gate and you will see the branches of the “Godly Plum Blossom” tree, whose branches stretch outward from within a fenced area. This tree has been likened to Dazaifu’s “Leaping Plum Blossom”. There is also a 900-year-old giant camphor on the shrine grounds that has been designated a Natural Monument by the prefecture. As if to evidence the legend about Sugawara no Michizane and kappa (water sprites), the supposed hand of a kappa continues to be carefully maintained to this day at the shrine. The Fall festival called Okunchi (a Prefecture Designated Intangible Cultural Folk Asset) is also held here on the third Sunday of every October.