Suppression of the Wako pirates

Timeline

1. 1019Heian-kyō · KinkiUpon receiving urgent reports from the western provinces, the court appointed Fujiwara no Tsunesue as pursuit commander and ordered warriors from Tsushima, Iki, Chikuzen, and Hizen to assemble; Taira no Kaneaki and other warriors in the capital were also ordered west, forming an army under direct court command.
2. 1019Matsuura, Hizen Province · HizenThe pursuit force caught up with the Wako raiders at Matsuura in Hizen; after fierce fighting, the raiders' leader was killed, over a hundred were captured, and the remnants fled by ship. This was a rare large-scale coastal land battle in the Heian period, demonstrating the ability of local warriors and centrally dispatched forces to fight together.
3. 1019Heian-kyō · KinkiAfter the pacification, captives were presented to the court, and Tsunesue, Kaneaki, and others received rewards; the court also ordered strengthened defenses on Tsushima and Iki and inspected coastal estates. The Wako disturbance was thus quelled, and order in the western provinces gradually recovered.