Who was this person?
An early Edo lord of Kaga domain. A son of Maeda Toshiie, he tied kinship to the Tokugawa shogunal house and ordered domain government as a great tozama daimyō. He also worked on building Kanazawa and promoting industry.
| Name | Maeda Toshitsune (前田利常) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1594 – 1658 |
| Period | Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo |
| Birthplace | Kaga Province |
| Main achievements |
|
Fourth son of Maeda Toshiie; mother was the concubine Jufukuin. Childhood name Saruchiyo. Because elder brother Toshinaga had no heir, a path opened for him to be adopted and succeed.
Around Sekigahara, a match with Tama-hime, daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, advanced. Kinship with the shogunal house greatly aided the Maeda house's survival. The young couple's bond became a security for the domain. Mentions of Kaga domain also mark this phase.
On Toshinaga's retirement he succeeded as 2nd lord. Still a boy, he learned foundations of domain rule among retainers and his birth and adoptive mothers. The bakufu also granted the Matsudaira surname.
He fought for the Tokugawa in the winter and summer Osaka campaigns. The large Maeda force also showed loyalty to the bakufu. Afterward the status of Kaga's great domain grew more secure.
He briefly yielded the house to his son Mitsutaka and retired. When Mitsutaka died early he returned to domain affairs, ordering Kanazawa's town and industries. He also advanced garden works linked to the later Kenrokuen.
He tightened land surveys and retainer control, solidifying rule of a huge domain. Balancing finance and military duty, he kept bakufu trust. The base for Kaga as a major tozama through the Edo period was laid.
He encouraged learning that fed later domain schools and protected crafts and arts. Kanazawa's cultural depth is said to have grown in Toshitsune's time. He held up balance of arms and letters as a domain ideal.
As a great tozama he fulfilled sankin-kōtai and building levies, acting to avoid suspicion. Links to the shogunal house through Tama-hime's children were also political capital. Long peace demanded careful conduct.
Even in old age he watched key domain matters and guided retainer posts and finance. Stabilizing huge Kaga was Toshitsune's final task. Policies caring for subjects' lives are also recorded.
He died in Kanazawa at sixty-four. The Maeda continued as a million-koku-class tozama, and Kaga was known as a rich domain. Toshitsune bridged Sengoku afterheat to peaceful domain rule.
A. An early Edo lord of Kaga domain. A son of Maeda Toshiie, he tied kinship to the Tokugawa shogunal house and ordered domain government as a great tozama daimyō. He also worked on building Kanazawa and promoting industry.
A. Period: Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo. Born in 1594, died in 1658.
A. Maeda Toshitsune was born in Kaga Province.
A. Amid instability around Sekigahara, marrying Tokugawa Hidetada's daughter Tama secured the Maeda house's survival and trust.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Maeda ToshiieTokugawa Hidetada
Kobori EnshūHayashi RazanMiyamoto MusashiIngenMatsudaira NobutsunaSenhimeTokugawa IemitsuNakae Tōju
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.