Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
Saga ordered Sakanoue no Tamuramaro to block Heizei's move. As Tamuramaro left, he asked for the release of Watamaro, his former comrade from the subjugation of the Emishi, and Watamaro was pardoned and appointed as "sangi". That evening, Nakanari was shot to death. This was a rare application of the death penalty during the Heian period — the next execution was almost 350 years later, when Minamoto no Tameyoshi was executed after the Hōgen Rebellion in 1156.