Sakanoue no Tamuramaro

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 rememberance 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.