was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

of the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. Also known as Toshiharu , he was the son of Maeda Toshitaka. His seat was Arako Castle in

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

. Toshimasa was a vassal of

Oda Nobuhide was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and magistrate of the Sengoku period known as "Tiger of Owari" and also the father of Oda Nobunaga the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobuhide was a deputy ''shugo'' (Shugodai) of lower Owari Province and head of the ...

, who nominally ruled Owari Province from his seat at

Kiyosu Castle is a Japanese castle located in Kiyosu, eastern Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is noted for its association with the rise to power of the Sengoku period warlord, Oda Nobunaga. The kanji in the name of the castle was written as 清須城. The curren ...

Family

*Father: Maeda Toshitaka *Wife: Nagayowai-in (d. 1573) ** First son: Maeda Toshihisa (d. 1587?) ** Second son: Maeda Toshifusa ** Fourth son:

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

(1539–1599), lord of the "Million Koku

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

". ** Fifth son: Sawaki Yoshiyuki (d. 1573) *unknown ** Third son: Maeda Yasukatsu (d. 1594) ** Sixth son: Maeda Hidetsugu (d. 1586) ** First daughter: Maeda Masa (given in marriage to Takabatake Sadayoshi)

Popular culture

Maeda Toshimasa was depicted by

Bunta Sugawara was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 200 feature films. Dropping out of Waseda University, he worked as a model before entering the film industry in 1956. After years of work, Sugawara finally established himself as a famous actor at the a ...

in the 2002

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

historical drama ''Toshiie to Matsu'' .

References

Samurai Japanese Buddhists 1560 deaths Maeda clan Year of birth unknown {{samurai-stub