* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Maeda Toshitsune
前田利常
Second lord of Kaga domain, famed for feigning foolishness to protect the million-koku domain
Description
Origins and Succession
Maeda Toshitsune (1594-1658) was born on 16 January 1594 as the illegitimate fourth son of Maeda Toshiie, founder of Kaga domain. His mother was the consort Jufuku-in (Tōmaru-dono), and he is said to have been born while Toshiie was stationed at Nagoya Castle during the Korean campaigns. In his early years he was raised under the guardianship of Maeda Nagatane, lord of Moriyama Castle in Etchū Province. In the sixth month of 1605, when his elder brother Toshinaga, the first daimyo, retired, Toshitsune became the second lord of Kaga domain at the age of twelve. Toshinaga had initially considered his brother Toshimasa as heir, but is said to have changed course toward Toshitsune following the Battle of Sekigahara. That same year, Toshitsune married Tama-hime, daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, then only three years old, strengthening the ties between the Maeda and Tokugawa houses.
Domain Governance and the Siege of Osaka
Toshitsune devoted himself to flood-control projects and agricultural administration, and his rule came to be praised in the saying "for governance, first Kaga, second Tosa." He led the Maeda forces at the 1614-15 Siege of Osaka, reportedly mobilizing more than 20,000 troops.
The "Nose-Hair Daimyo" Anecdote
Toshitsune is remembered for an anecdote in which he deliberately grew his nose hair long in order to appear foolish and avoid arousing the suspicion of the Tokugawa shogunate. He is said to have told his retainers, "This nose hair protects the provinces of Kaga, Noto and Etchū, and keeps all of you living in peace" — the origin of his later nickname, the "Nose-Hair Daimyo."
Patronage of the Arts and Crafts
Toshitsune employed leading craftsmen from Kyoto and Edo at high stipends, including the metalworkers Gotō Kenjō and Gotō Kakujō and the lacquer artist Igarashi Dōho, fostering the development of art and craft industries within Kaga domain. Even after his retirement, he continued to support domain governance as guardian to his grandson Tsunanori, who had succeeded to the headship while still young.
Legacy
Behind the self-deprecating "nose-hair" anecdote lay a steady and capable hand in domain administration, and Toshitsune is highly regarded in studies of early-modern daimyo as the ruler who stabilized the foundations of Kaga's million-koku domain.