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 4th ''

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 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 5th 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 Sugaw ...

. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" (犬千代).

Biography

Tsunanori was born at the Maeda clan residence in Edo as the eldest son of

Maeda Mitsutaka was an early-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 3rd ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 4th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa Maeda clan. His courtesy titles were ''Chikuzen-no-kami'' and ''Sakonoe-shosho ...

. His mother was the daughter of

Tokugawa Yorifusa , also known as Mito Yorifusa, was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Biography Known in his childhood as Tsuruchiyomaru (鶴千代丸), he was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun with his concubine, Ka ...

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.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 ...

, Tsunanori's uncle,

Maeda Toshitsune was an early-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 2nd ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and the 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Maeda clan. Toshitsune was a brother of Maeda Toshinaga and a son of Maeda Toshiie. He was ...

was named regent. Tsunanori was called Matsudaira Inuchiyo-maru in his youth, 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 in 1654, 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 Ietsuna was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. E ...

presiding and was awarded Senior 4th Rank, lower grade and the courtesy title of ''Sakonoe-shosho'' and ''Kaga-no-kami'' at that time. In 1658, he was wed to Suma-hime, the daughter of Hoshina Masayuki of

Aizu Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the ...

. However, this was a political marriage; she was only 10 years old, and died in 1666 at the age of 18. Tsunanori never formally remarried. In 1658, Toshitsune died, and Tsunanori was finally able to take full control of the domain. One of his first steps was to initiate a

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

program grouping villages into groups of ten in order to facilitate tax collection and opening of new rice lands. He also established a more systematic approach to famine relief and to medical care within the domain. He revised the domain laws which had been very severe since the time of

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� ...

’s suppression of the

Ikkō-ikki were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or ''daimyō''. Mainly co ...

. Tsunanori also settled a long-simmering border dispute with Fukui Domain over who “owned” the holy mountain of Hakusan on the border of the two provinces. Tsunanori was also a noted patron of the arts, especially favoring the performance of

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

plays in the domain. He also amassed major collection of Japanese and Chinese literary works. However, he is perhaps best known for his development of the famous

Kenroku-en Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Along with Kairaku-en and Kōraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The grounds are open year-round except ...

gardens in Kanazawa. In 1689, under ''Shōgun''

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 ...

, the domain was accorded the same courtesy in audiences in Edo Castle as was extended to 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 ...

'', and the ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...

'' of the domain was reassessed at 1 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 ...

''. Tsunanori retired from public life in 1723 and died in 1724 at the age of 80.

Family

* Father:

* Mother: Tokugawa Ōhime (1627-1665), daughter of

Tokugawa Yorinobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Born under the name Nagatomimaru (長福丸), he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Kageyama-dono. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 20 ...

Wakayama Domain Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan *Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama *Wakayama University , or , is a national university loca ...

* Wife: Matsuhime (1648-1666) * Concubines: ** Omiyo no Kata ** Juen’in ** Chosho-in ** Hojuin ** Omachi no Kata ** Horin’in ** Okoshi no Kata * Children: ** Maeda Toshikiyo (1674-1675) by Omiyo no Kata ** Senhime (1677-1681) by Juen’in ** Ushihime (1680-1730) married Asano Yoshinaga by Juen’in ** Reishoin (1677-1677) by Chosho-in ** Toyohime (1687-1718) married Maeda Takasuke by Hojuin ** Keihime (1689-1737) married Ikeda Yoshiyasu by Hojuin ** Maeda Toshiakira (1691 – 1737) by Hojuin ** Naohime (1693-1749) married Nijō Yoshitada by Hojuin ** Yoshihime (1689-1693) by Omachi no Kata **

Maeda Yoshinori was an Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 5th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 6th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa Maeda clan. Yoshinori was the third son of Maeda Tsunanori. His mother was a comm ...

by Omachi no Kata ** Kumaru (1689-1689) by Horin’in ** Masajuro (1698-1699) by Okoshi no Kata * Adopted Daughters: ** Kyohime married Cho Hisatsura ** Seihime married Sanjonishi Ginfuku ** Utsuhime married Sakai tadayori

Honors

*1654: Senior 4th Grade, lower rank and Sakonoe-shosho *1658: Sakonoe-chusho *1693: Sangi *1707: Senior Third Grade *1723: Hizen-no-kami *1909: Second Grade (posthumous)

References

* Papinot, Edmond. (1948). ''Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan''. New York: Overbeck Co. *『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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maeda, Tsunanori 1643 births 1724 deaths Maeda clan Tozama daimyo People of Edo-period Japan