Sakanoue no Kiyono (坂上浄野)
SAKANOUE no Kiyono (791- 850) was the third son of SAKANOUE no Tamuramaro. He was a successor of Tamuramaro. He consecutively held posts including Shoshiinoge (Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade) Mutsu no kuni no Azechi (local inspector of Mutsu Province) and Dewa no kuni no Azechi (local inspector of Dewa Province).
He won Emperor Saga's trust as a close adviser to the Emperor since the Emperor was a Crown Prince. He won the Emperor's favor particularly because his talent for Kisha (to shoot an arrow with riding a horse) was appreciated. In 819 after the death of Tamuramaro, he was appointed Chinju-fu shogun (Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North) of Mutsu. In the next year, 820, he served concurrently as Mutsu no suke (assistant governor of Mutsu Province). He was appointed Sakone no shosho (Minor Captain of the Left Division of Inner Palace Guards) in 822, and promoted to Jugoinojo (Junior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade) the next year. In later years, he left the management of Tohoku region to his older brother, SAKANOUE no Hirono, because he became Ukone no shosho (Minor Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards) and Mutsu no suke and so on. He stepped back from the management of Tohoku because he was transferred to the Governor of Satsuma Province and consecutively to the post of the Governor of Tosa Province. However, Kiyono was appointed again for the management of Tohoku, because his older brother, Hirono, died young from excessive drinking in 828. In 834, he was appointed Azechi of Mutsu and Dewa and engaged in the management of Tohoku again.
The family line of Tamuramaro was succeeded by the third son, Kiyono, because the first son, SAKANOUE no Ono, died young and the second son, SAKANOUE no Hirono who took over as head of the family, also died young. However, some suggest that 'Ono' and 'Hirono' were the same person and that Kiyono was the second son.
It is known that Kiyono had three sons; the first son, SAKANOUE no Masamune (Chinju-fu shogun), the second son, SAKANOUE no Masamine (the Governor of Dewa Province), and the third son, SAKANOUE no Masamichi (the Governor of Mutsu Province). The job grades of his sons shows that all of them were involved in the management of Tohoku. SAKANOUE no Masamune's son, SAKANOUE no Yoshimune, also became Chinju-fu shogun. SAKANOUE no Masamichi's son, SAKANOUE no Yoshikage, was promoted as warrior to Jushiinojo (Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade) Sama no kami (Captain of Samaryo, Left Division of Bureau of Horses), and then to Ukon no shosho (Minor Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards) and Masamichi's subsequent descendents lived in the capital. SAKANOUE no Korenori (Masamichi's grandson) and SAKANOUE no Mochiki (Masamichi's great-grandson) became famous as kajin (waka poet), their descendants did great performances as a Kebiishi police officer and in the law field as a Myobo hakase (teacher of the law in the Ritsuryo system).