Toshinaga was the eldest son of Maeda Toshiie. In 1581 he married a young daughter (Naga, 1574-1623) of Oda Nobunaga. He was involved in the fighting around Suemori castle in Noto province (1584) and in 1587 led some 3,000 men in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kyushu Campaign. He later went to the Odawara Campaign with his father. Following the death of Toshiie, Toshinaga shared the Maeda domain (Etchû, Kaga, and Noto) with his brother Toshimasa. Hosokawa Tadaoki convinced Toshinaga to support Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1600, although Toshimasa opted to side with Ishida Mitsunari. During the Sekigahara Campaign Toshinaga assisted in the containment of Uesugi Kagekatsu while preventing his brother from making any real contribution to the 'western' cause. In addition, he defeated Tanba Nagashige at Asai. After the Tokugawa victory, Toshinaga received Toshimasa's lands. He was one of the first (if not the first) daimyô to build a private mansion in Edo, a gesture quickly copied by other notables. He adopted his younger brother Toshitsune as heir and retired in 1605 at Toyama in Etchû Province.
References
- Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005