8.Yodozan Myokenji Temple

The feelings of the temple and its bonds with people
embodied in hydrangeas

　Myokenji Temple, also known as the “Hydrangea Temple,” bustles with many visitors during the rainy season. Two thousand hydrangeas of two hundred varieties are planted on the gentle slopes. Killifish have also been on display here since the year before last, which is said to have attracted casual visitors to the temple that would not normally come. While it is a rather easygoing temple today, it was originally opened in 1925 as a Kyushu branch temple where monks would practice prayer. It became the temple we recognize today when head priest NichihoNippo Matsukawa was transferred here from a temple in Kumamoto. Although it is a relatively new temple, it has brought peace of mind to many people through prayers for the healing of illnesses and the extermination of bad fortune, and its number of parishioners also increased. Putting the hydrangea and killifish on display and placing such importance on having a close bond with the public is in line with the desires of head priest NichihoNippo Matsukawa to be close to the people. Even as the times change, the temple carries on the spirit of these feelings. The beautifully blooming hydrangeas are the very embodiment of the temple’s devotion to welcoming those who visit.