Sakanoue no Masamichi (坂上当道)
SAKANOUE no Masamichi is one of the Sakanoue clan members. Uhyoe no kami (Captain of the Right Division of Middle Palace Guards) and Mutsu no kami (the governor of Mutsu Province).
Masamichi is the grandson of SAKANOUE no Tamuramaro (a military commander of the early Heian period), and the son of SAKANOUE no Kiyono according to 'Genealogical Chart of the Sakanoue Clan,' but is written as the son of SAKANOUE no Hirono in 'Montoku Jitsuroku' (fifth of the six official national history books). Since Tamuramaro's eldest son SAKANOUE no Ono, and his second son SAKANOUE no Hirono both died young, the headship of the family was handed over to the third son Kiyono, and then to Masamichi.
Masamichi's son SAKANOUE no Yoshikage was engaged in the management of the Tohoku region which had continued since the time of his grandfather Tamuramaro, and, making a spectacular showing as a warrior, became Jushiinojo (Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade) Ukon no shosho (Minor Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). However, Masamichi's grandson SAKANOUE no Korenori and his great-grandson SAKANOUE no Mochiki lived in the capital and left their names as poets, and a number of Masamichi's descendants took active roles in the law-related field such as Kebiishi no taijo (a Kebiishi police officer) and Myoho hakase (a professor of law).
Meanwhile, it appears Masamichi was involved also in the management of Hiranosho (present Hirano Ward, Osaka City) in Sumiyoshi-gun of Settsu Province which had been an important domain for the Sakanoue clan since the time of his father or of his uncle Hirono. According to a legend handed down in Kumata-jinja Shrine and so on in the area, Masamichi "lived in Hiranosho of Settsu Province, its kaihatsu ryoshu (a local notable who actually developed the land) being SAKANOUE no Hirono, where he succeeded to the property of the SAKANOUE clan after Hirono and established Gion-sha Shrine [present Kumata-jinja Shrine] enshrining Susanoo no mikoto."
It is said that the Hirano clan which appears in the medieval period as an offspring of the Sakanoue clan is not descended from Masamichi but from Hirono's son SAKANOUE no Mineo (Chamberlain), his grandson SAKANOUE no 峯盆 (Kiyomizu-dera betto [Chief Priest at Kiyomizu-dera Temple] and Dewa no Gon no Suke [provisional vice governor of Dewa Province]), and his great-grandson SAKANOUE no Yukimatsu (his first name could be Yukimasu)(Akita-jo no suke gonnokami [provincial governor of Akita-jo Castle, and provisional governor of Dewa Province).