Aterui

Aterui (アテルイ, 阿弖流爲) (d. Enryaku 21, 802 AD) was the head of Lord of Tamo ("Tamo-no-kimi"), in the region of Isawa. Isawa was a domain in Oshu, or independent northern Japan before it was subjugated.

For many Japanese, he was long demonized as a Red Headed Demon (Akuro-o). Aterui the (Lord of Tamo*) was the greatest chief of Emishi, an indigenous peoples of Japan, who were considered barbarians. He lived in Isawa (what is now Mizusawa town, Ōshū, Iwate, southern Iwate) and fought with Tamuramaro Sakanoue (758-811), the legendary Shogun in the Nihonshoki leading a infantry based army from the Imperial Japanese Government based in Nara and later in Kyoto at the turn of the ninth century (789-802). He fought against Imperial Armies in the Thirty-Eight Year War (三十八年戦争), which was a series of battles beginning in 774 AD. After losing to the Shiwa Emishi in 774 AD and 789 AD, the Japanese Imperial Armies allied with them to defeat the independent Isawa Emishi (of which Aterui was chief) in 802 A.D.

References in science, media

Aterui folklore has been made into many plays (performing arts), anime (Aterui The Second) , and even an asteroid.

7590 Aterui (1992 UP4) is a asteroid discovered on October 26, 1992 by K. Endate and K. Watanabe.

ee also

* Ainu

External links

* [http://p-www.iwate-pu.ac.jp/~acro-ito/Japan_pics/Japan_MZS/Aterui.html Aterui the Great]
* [http://gutzz.web.fc2.com/works/stage/aterui.htm Aterui play]