was an

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

, and the 5th ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of

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

in the

Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...

of Japan. He was the 6th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa

Maeda clan was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Suga ...

. Yoshinori was the third son of

Maeda Tsunanori was an Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 4th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 5th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa Maeda clan. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" (犬千代). Biography Tsunanori wa ...

. His mother was a commoner and a concubine. From 1702, he was named heir and was given the childhood name of Katsumaru (勝丸) later Matsudaira Inuchiyo-maru, later becoming Toshitaka (利挙) and then Toshioki (利興). He underwent the ''

genpuku is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD). /sup> This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participat ...

'' ceremony with ''

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...

presiding and was renamed Yoshiharu (吉治). In 1708, he was wed to Matsuhime, the adopted daughter of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the daughter of

Tokugawa Tsunanari was ''daimyō'' of Owari Domain during early-Edo period Japan. Biography Tokugawa Tsunanari was the son of the second ''daimyō'' of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Mitsutomo by his official wife, Chiyohime later Reisen-in, the daughter of ''shōgun'' T ...

Owari Domain The was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated at ...

. In 1723, his father retired, citing ill health, and he became ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain as Maeda Yoshinori. Although Kaga Domain was stable politically, and had been accorded the same status in audiences in

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

as one of the ''

Gosanke The , also called simply , or even , were the most noble three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan: Owari, Kii, and Mito, all of which were descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu's three youngest sons, Yoshinao, Yorinobu, and Yorifusa ...

'', the economic position of the domain was growing precarious despite its one million ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'' status. Yoshinori's first task was to initiate a reform of domain finances. Spending had been profligate under the tenure of Tsunanori, partly to offset suspicions of the wealth of Kaga Domain by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. Yoshinori appointed one of his favourites, Ōtsuki Denzō, of ''

ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ''ashigaru'' became prevalent by various ...

'' background, as his senior economic advisor and implemented an unpopular program of cutting expenses, curbing speculation in the rice market, and passing sumptuary consumption rules. Under this program, the domain's financial situation improved considerably, and Yoshinori appointed Ōtsuki to ever greater positions of authority. This caused great resentment amongst the senior retainers and on the death of Yoshinori in 1745 at the age of 56, there was a conservative backlash which upended many of the reforms.

Family

*Father:

* Mother: Omachi no Kata * Wife: Tokugawa Matsuhime, daughter of

* Concubines: ** Atae no Kata later Joshuin ** Shinkyo-in ** Otaki no Kata later Seigetsu’in ** Osada no Kata later Shin’nyoin ** Onui no Kata later Zenryo’in ** Oran no Kata ** Onatsu no Kata later Jusei’in ** Jitsujoin ** Okiyo no Kata Jisenin *Children: ** Maeda Munetoki by Atae no Kata ** Maeda Shigehiro by Shinkyo-in ** Wakko’in (1731-1731) by Shinkyo-in ** Maeda Toshikazu (1735-1759) by Osada no Kata ** Maeda Shigenobu by Onui no Kata **

Maeda Shigemichi was an Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 9th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 10th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa Maeda clan. Shigemichi was born in Kanazawa as Kenjiro (健次郎), the seventh ...

by Jitsujoin **

Maeda Harunaga was an Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 10th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 11th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa Maeda clan. Harunaga was born in Kanazawa as Tokijiro (時次郎), the tenth so ...

by Onatsu no Kata **Kiyohime (1732–1750), married

Asano Munetsune Asano Munetsune (September 27, 1717 – January 2, 1788) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of period, who ruled the Hiroshima Domain. His childhood name was Senjirō (仙次郎) later Iwamatsu (岩松). Family * Father: Asano Yoshinaga (Lord of Hiroshima ...

Hiroshima Domain The was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. The Hiroshima Domain was based at Hiroshima Castle in Aki Province, in the modern city of Hiroshima, located in the Chūgoku region of the island of Ho ...

by Otaki no Kata **Sōhime (1733–1758), married Maeda Toshiyuki of

Toyama Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Etchū Province (modern-day Toyama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Toyama Castle in what is now the city of Toyama. Throughout its history, it was ruled by a cadet branch of the Maeda cl ...

by Osada no Kata **Gōhime (1737-1762), married

Satake Yoshimasa Satake may refer to: *Satake clan, a Japanese samurai clan originally from Hitachi Province *Satake Corporation, a multinational agricultural equipment maker based in Hiroshima, Japan *Asteroid 8194 Satake *Ichirō Satake (1927–2014), Japanese ...

Kubota Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its histo ...

by Osada no Kata ** Masahime (1739-1739) by Osada no Kata ** Maeda Yasogoro (1741-1761) by Osada no Kata ** Kiihime (1739-1740) by Oran no Kata ** Nobuhime (1740-1798) married Sakai Tadayoshi by Onatsu no Kata ** Yasuhime (1743-1743) by Onatsu no Kata ** Maeda Toshizane (1743-1766) by Okiyo no Kata ** daughter (1737) ** son (1743) * Adopted Daughter: Ayuhime married

Nanbu Toshikatsu was a mid-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 8th ''daimyō'' of Morioka Domain in northern Japan. He was the 34th hereditary chieftain of the Nanbu clan. His courtesy title was ''Shinano-no-kami'', (later ''Daizen-no-daifu'') and his Court ran ...

, Maeda Toshiakira's daughter

Honors

*1702: Senior 4th Grade, lower rank, Sakon-e-gon-shosho, Wakasa-no-kami *1723: Kaga-no-kami, Sakonoe-shosho; Sakon-e-gon-chusho

References

* Papinot, Edmond. (1948). ''Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan''. New York: Overbeck Co. 若林喜三郎『前田綱紀』吉川弘文館〈人物叢書〉、1986年、新装版。。 *『江戸三百藩藩主列伝』新人物往来社〈別冊歴史読本〉、2012年

External links

Kaga Domain on "Edo 300 HTML"
(3 November 2007) 1690 births 1745 deaths Maeda clan Tozama daimyo People of Edo-period Japan {{Daimyo-stub