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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.
Serving emperor
Kammu, he was appointed shogun and given the task of conquering the
Emishi (Emishi Seibatsu) which he subjugated and drove from
the
Tohoku region of
Honshu to the island of
Hokkaido. After emperor Kammu's death, the general continued to serve
the emperors
Heizei and
Saga.
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro first built
Kiyomizu Temple (Kiyomizu-dera), one of the most famous
landmarks to be seen in
Kyoto.
It is said that the famous
Tanabata festivals and parades of
Aomori prefecture that draw over 3 million people to the prefecture a
year, called the Nebuta festival in
Aomori City and Neputa festival in
Hirosaki City, are in remembrance of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro's
conquering of the natives' land. 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.
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