Serving
Emperor Kanmu, Tamuramaro was appointed
shōgun 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 Kanmu's death, the general continued to serve
Emperor Heizei and
Emperor Saga as and . He was the second person to be given the title of
Sei-i Taishōgun (征夷大将軍). The first to receive this title was
Ōtomo no Otomaro. 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 popularised in remembrance of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro's campaign to subdue the tribal societies then living in
Tōhoku. These annual
matsuri are called the
Nebuta festival in Aomori City and
Neputa Festival () in
Hirosaki City. They feature a number of gigantic, specially-constructed, illuminated paper floats. These huge festival structures are colourfully 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. 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 Tamuramaro went farther north than
Iwate Prefecture. Tamuramaro's name is linked with payments for construction projects at
Kiyomizu Temple (
Kiyomizu-dera) in the late 8th century. The
Azuma Kagami tells a story of when
Fujiwara no Toshihito had fought together with Sakanoue no Tamuramaro to subdue a gang of Emishi bandits that had stood in their way when the duo were passing through the Taya Caves on their way back to Kamakura. ==Death, memorial and legends==