Ryuguji Temple

This guide to Ryuguji Temple in Fukuoka opens on April 14th, 1222, when fishermen in Hakata Bay hauled in something with a human face and a fish's tail, already dead. Word reached the imperial court, and a nobleman and a diviner named Abe no Otomi were sent to judge what the find meant for the nation. The temple that grew up around the burial took its name, Ryuguji, from the undersea dragon palace, and for centuries afterward its keepers drew out relics on set days each month for visitors seeking their protection.