Editing Fukuoka Prefecture (section)

==History==
{{See also|List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukuoka)|History of Fukuoka|History of Dazaifu, Fukuoka}}
Fukuoka Prefecture includes the [[Old provinces of Japan|former provinces]] of [[Chikugo Province|Chikugo]], [[Chikuzen Province|Chikuzen]], and [[Buzen Province|Buzen]].<ref>Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|p. 780|page=780}}.</ref>

===Shrines and temples===
[[Kōra taisha]], [[Sumiyoshi-jinja]], and [[Hakozaki Shrine|Hakozaki-gū]] are the chief [[Shinto shrine]]s (''[[ichinomiya]]'') in the prefecture.<ref>[http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/images/uploads/EOS070712Ab.pdf "Nationwide List of ''Ichinomiya''," p. 3] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517061440/http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/images/uploads/EOS070712Ab.pdf |date=May 17, 2013 }}; retrieved 2012-10-26.</ref>

There are several historically important Buddhist temples in the Prefecture. Monks would sail back from China after completing their studies and establish temples in the heart of Hakata (now Fukuoka) City.
Monk [[Eisai]] founded [[Shōfuku-ji (Fukuoka)|Shōfuku-ji]] which is known today as the oldest zen temple in Japan,
monk [[Kukai]] established [[Tocho-ji]], and [[Joten-ji]] was built by [[Enni]] who is also known for bringing Udon noodles first to Japan.
The oldest temple is [[Kanzeon-ji]] that was founded by the Emperor in [[Dazaifu, Fukuoka|Dazaifu]] during the 7th century to honor his mother. Kanzeon-ji together with [[Kaidan-in]], that used to be part of the former, was one of the three distinct places in Japan where Buddhist monks could ordain.

During the Tokugawa shogunate when the country was ruled by 300 local feudal lords ([[daimyo]]), an important daimyo, Arima Toyōji was relocated to this region and thus he moved his family temple to [[Kurume]] City. This zen temple is known today as [[Bairin-ji (Kurume)|Bairin-ji]] and is a main temple for zen practice in Fukuoka Prefecture and Kyushu. It is located on the West bank of Chiguko River, next to the Shinkansen station of Kurume city.{{fix|link=Wikipedia:Citations needed|text=citation needed|class=Template-Fact}}