The temple has a special historical connection to the famous daimyō Kato Kiyomasa. As a young boy known as Toranosuke or Yashamaru, Kiyomasa lived with his uncle in Tsushima and attended Myoen-ji for his early education. A local legend tells that he used to hang sheets of paper (hanshi) to dry on a pine tree in the temple grounds; this tree became known as the “Kiyomasa Paper-Hanging Pine,” and a preserved section of its trunk is still kept at the temple today.