Maeda Toshinaga

Maeda Toshinaga (1562–1614) was a samurai commander and daimyō active from the Sengoku period into the early Edo period. He is known as the first lord of the Kaga Domain (present-day Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures). He succeeded his father, Maeda Toshiie, and became one of the Council of Five Elders under the Toyotomi regime. At the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), he sided with the Eastern Army under Tokugawa Ieyasu and secured the survival of the family name. Throughout the Edo period, he established the foundation of the "Kaga Hyakumangoku" (One Million Koku of Kaga), the largest domain among the tozama daimyō.

Toshinaga was born in Eiroku 5 (1562) as the eldest son of Maeda Toshiie. His mother was Hōshun-in (Matsu). He was raised as a warrior under his father, who had risen to prominence as a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. From Tenshō 11 (1583), following the Battle of Shizugatake, he took part in campaigns across various regions alongside his father. After the Toyotomi regime was established, he supported his father, who was one of the Council of Five Elders. In Keichō 3 (1598), upon Toshiie's retirement, he succeeded to the headship of the Maeda house. In the following year, Keichō 4 (1599), after Toshiie's death, he became one of the Council of Five Elders.

At the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), the Maeda house sided from the outset with Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army and captured Daishōji Castle, which belonged to the Western Army. This decision was a crucial turning point for the survival of the Maeda house. It was also a remote cause of why, throughout the Edo period, the family could maintain the great Kaga Hyakumangoku domain despite being tozama daimyō. After the war, he devoted himself to developing the domain administration from Kanazawa Castle, and worked to foster the growth of the castle town and cultural activities. In Keichō 10 (1605), he handed the headship of the family to his half-brother Toshitsune and retired. In Keichō 14 (1609), he built Takaoka Castle and moved there. He died at Takaoka Castle in Keichō 19 (1614).

Many of the famous swords passed down in the Maeda family are now held by the Maeda Ikutokukai Foundation. Toshinaga was also a man of culture who was fond of the tea ceremony (chanoyu), and he had the refinement to appreciate swords as cultural products.