Sakanoue no Tamuramaro

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Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (坂上田村麻呂 758 - 811) was a general and shogun of the early Heian Period of Japan. He was the son of Sakanoue no Karitamaro.

Serving Emperor Kammu, he was appointed shogun and given the task of conquering the Emishi (蝦夷征伐 Emishi Seibatsu), a people native to the north of Honshū, which he subjugated. Recent evidence suggests that a migration of Emishi from northern Honshū to Hokkaidō took place sometime between the seventh and eighth centuries, perhaps as a direct result of this policy that pre-dated Tamuramaro's appointment. However, many Emishi remained in the Tōhoku region as subjects of the expanding Japanese Empire, and later established independent Fushu domains. After Emperor Kammu's death, the general continued to serve Emperor Heizei and Emperor Saga as Major Counselor (大納言, dainagon^?) and Minister of War (兵部卿, Hyōbu-kyō^?)^[1]

It is said that the famous Tanabata festivals and parades of Aomori prefecture (also celebrated in the city of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture), which draw over 3 million people to the prefecture a year, were popularized in remembrance of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro's camapign to subdue the tribal societies then living in Tohoku. These annual matsuri are called the Nebuta festival in Aomori City and Neputa festival (ねぷた祭り) in Hirosaki City.

Tamuramaro's military successes are commemorated today in autumn matsuri which feature a number of gigantic, specially-constructed, illuminated paper floats. These huge festival structures are colorfully painted with mythical figures; and teams of men carry them through the streets as crowds shout encouragement. Aomori's great nebuta lanterns are said to hark back to Tamuramaro's innovative strategy in that early ninth century campaign. According to legend, the taishogun is remembered for having ordered huge illuminated lanterns to be placed at the top of hills; and when the curious Emishi approached these bright lights to investigate, they were captured and subdued.^[2] Until the mid 1990s the prize awarded for the best float of the parades was called the Tamuramaro Prize. However, there is no historical record that he went farther north than Iwate prefecture.

Tamuramaro is credited with the building of Kiyomizu Temple (Kiyomizu-dera) in 805, one of the most famous landmarks to be seen in Kyoto.

Kōnin 2, in the 3rd month (811): Tamuramaro died at age 54, to the great regret of Emperor Saga, who expressed his sense of loss by distributing large quantities of silk cloth, cotton cloth and rice in honor of his dead counselor. His bow, arrows, quiver and sword were placed in his coffin by order of the Emperor.^[3]

Tamuramaro is reputedly buried at Shōgun-zuka, and his spirit is said to be guarding Kyoto still; but even if part of that tale is only myth, the recorded final resting place of the old warrior was near the village of Kurusu (Kurusu-mura 栗栖村) in Yamashiro's Uji district.^[4]

[edit] References

^ Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 272.
^ Boroff, Nicholas. National Geographic Traveler Japan, p. 156.
^ Titsingh, p. 99.
^ Titsingh, p. 99.

Bornoff, Nicholas. (2005). National Geographic Traveler Japan. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0-7922-3894-X
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō (1652)], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chikafusa (1359)], Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4