N The Battle of Subushi (a battle fought between the Imperial Army and Emishi in Rikuchu Province in (巣伏の戦い)
The Battle of Subushi was a battle between the Imperial army and Emishi (natives of the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and northern Honshu that opposed and resisted the rule of the Japanese Emperors) occurred in Tohoku region (later Rikuchu Province) in the Nara period.
The Course of the Battle
KI no Kosami who was appointed to the position ofseito shogun (literally, "general who subdues the eastern barbarians") in 788 led the Imperial army to conquer the Emishi in the following year, 789. The Imperial army reached Mutsu Province and spent several days staying in Koromogawa Village at the entrance of the Isawa where the chieftain Aterui of the Emishi side was based, then after the Emperor Kanmu's reprimand, it took action at the end of June.
The Battle
From the Imperial army having stayed in three places in the west of the Kitakami-gawa River, 4000 soldiers of the middle and rear troops crossed the river to the east bank. These main armed forces saw and fought about 300 Emishi force forward in an area where the residence of Aterui was located. In the beginning the Imperial army was in the lead to reach Subushi Village chasing the enemy. Thereupon, the main forces tried to join with the front troop which, however, was not able to cross the river being blocked by the Emishi forces. On this occasion, about 800 soldiers were joined with the Emishi side and about 400 additional soldiers of the Emishi appeared from Mt. Higashi to block the rear. The Imperial army routed and suffered a loss of 25 soldiers killed including an officer HATSUSEBE no Zenri, 245 hit by arrow, 1036 drowned in the river, and 1257 naked to cross the river. With this defeat, the expedition of KI no Kosami ended in failure. The battle occurred at the end of June or at the beginning of July was tactically remarkable that small number of soldiers defeated the large number and no other battle for this kind was found in the history of ancient Japan.
After the Battle
As the second subjugation force, the expedition force of OTOMO no Otomaro and SAKANOUE no Tamuramaro was organized, but the details about how they engaged are not handed down.