Sei-i Taishōgun: The First Hero Born of a Martial House, 797

In 797 (Enryaku 16), in Heian-kyō. Emperor Kanmu appointed Sakanoue no Tamuramaro as Sei-i Taishōgun.

Tamuramaro was around forty. It was the position of supreme commander of the expeditionary army to pacify the Emishi of the northeast.

This title of 'Sei-i Taishōgun' would later be taken as the highest rank of the warrior order and as a model by the warrior governments from Minamoto no Yoritomo (this site's id 23) onward.

Its first embodiment was Tamuramaro, born into a family of warriors of immigrant descent.

The Sakanoue were a family of warriors descended from the Yamato-no-Aya, who had immigrated from the continent.

His father Sakanoue no Karitamaro also made his name as a military officer. Tamuramaro was born into this martial house and excelled from a young age in the martial arts and in command.

The court at the time was suffering under a long war with the Emishi of the northeast.

An age that sought a man of ability from the warrior order pushed the commander's vessel that was Tamuramaro onto the front stage of history.

Emperor Kanmu made the pacification of the Emishi of the northeast a state enterprise alongside the transfer of the capital to Heian-kyō.

Earlier expeditions had often suffered great defeats, and the court needed a capable commander.

Tamuramaro joined the expedition as a deputy commander and, his military talent recognized, was selected as Sei-i Taishōgun.

Backed by the emperor's trust, Tamuramaro would bear the grave responsibility of extending the court's authority into the northeast.

Tamuramaro is transmitted as a man who was a warrior and at the same time held a deep faith.

Kiyomizu-dera on Higashiyama in Kyoto is said to have been founded with his involvement out of devotion to Kannon.

A founding legend survives in which Tamuramaro, who had come to hunt deer, met the monk Enchin, repented of the taking of life, and opened the temple.

The image of a man possessing both the martial and the devout became the foundation for later ages to pass down Tamuramaro as a martial deity and hero.

Kiyomizu-dera still gathers many worshippers today.