Afterwards, he was appointed as Seito Taishogun in 788 and went eastwards to subdue eastern barbarians in 789, but his attempts ended in failure due to the resistance from Aterui, the head of barbarians.
その後788年（延暦7年）征東大将軍に任じられ、延暦8年(789年)には蝦夷の征討に赴くが、族長アテルイの活躍で失敗に終わる。