A large temple and graveyard containing notable figures.
The temple was originally founded at the bottom of nearby Mt. Kannon. It was then moved in 1624 to its present location and underwent major restoration works.
The building was the home of Oyamada Masanobu, who founded Sainen-ji as a temple after deciding to join the priesthood. Masanobu served as Akizuki Tanezane’s vassal from the second year of the Eiroku period (1559) but was convinced to join the priesthood following Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s conquest of Kyushu in 1587, where Tanezane was forced to surrender.
Both devout followers of Shin Buddhism, Masanobu and Hideyoshi spent three days in Akizuki accompanied by the high priest Kyono. After this experience Sainen-ji was born.
The graveyard behind the temple includes a number of notable figures including Hara Kosho, a teacher known for his Chinese poetry.
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