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← Back to the character index Oda Clan
Sakuma Nobumori Sassa Narimasa
Maeda Toshiie
Mataza the Spearman

Maeda Toshiie

Oda Clan
Maeda Toshiie
Life 1539–1599 (aged 61)
Title Mataza the Spearman
Faction Oda Clan
Places associated with this character Owari (1551–1568), Echizen (1569–1597), Osaka (1598–1599)
Voice and speech Flashy and exuberant in an Owari dialect, he comes alive when speaking of spear feats.
Family He rose from Nobunaga’s page, endured poverty with his principal wife Matsu, and advanced to become lord of all Noto.
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“In youth, he was an eccentric with a long spear; in old age, the only elder who could check Ieyasu. Endure his fall from favor with him and help protect the young lord after Hideyoshi’s death, and he may trust you as family with whom he can speak freely.”

Life

Founder of the Million-Koku Kaga Domain

Ambition

Support Shibata Katsuie on the Hokuriku front, establish the Maeda name through military service, and become a great tree that survives the turbulent age.

As a young eccentric, he killed the younger brother of a chief retainer and was expelled by Nobunaga. To repay the great kindness of being welcomed back, he will wield his spear and earn greater distinction than anyone.

Caught in the power struggle between Shibata and Hideyoshi, one wrong move could dispossess or destroy the Maeda house he worked so hard to build.

Obstacles of the era
  • Unrest among the remnants of the Noto Hatakeyama and Uesugi forces
  • The rupture between his benefactor Shibata Katsuie and his friend Hashiba Hideyoshi
  • The harsh climate of Hokuriku and pressure of the front

Character and convictions

Source of ambition

His martial skill, famed under the name Mataza the Spearman, and his deep bond with his wife Matsu.

Turning point

The memory of being expelled for a violent incident in his youth and nearly leaving his eldest son Toshinaga and family destitute.

How he treats others

His lifelong reverence for his wise wife Matsu, who supported him with laughter through their years of poverty.

Principle he will not yield

Failing in a samurai’s obligations and staining his name through a disgraceful betrayal.

Historical path

1551 - 1568
An eccentric in unusual dress who served Nobunaga with a long spear, accumulating both faults and achievements
His flamboyant Owari speech carries youthful pride; he comes alive when recounting his spear feats.
1569 - 1582
An Oda commander who campaigned through Hokuriku with Shibata’s forces as one of the Three of Fuchū in Echizen
His Owari voice grows composed, tempering pride as he speaks with discernment of command and duty.
1583 - 1597
A daimyo who withdrew his troops at Shizugatake, joined Hideyoshi, and built the Million-Koku Kaga domain
He calmly commands the room in his Owari accent and speaks earnestly of loyalty and harmony.
1598 - 1599
The elder entrusted by Hideyoshi, the one weight capable of restraining Ieyasu
Illness enters his Owari voice; each word about his legacy and the Toyotomi’s fate feels urgent.

Final chapter

1599 (aged 61)

After Hideyoshi unified the realm, Toshiie became the foremost of the Toyotomi Five Elders and was entrusted with young Hideyori. He died of illness at his Osaka residence in 1599, aged sixty-two.

He checks Ieyasu’s ambitions for supremacy as best he can, entrusts the Maeda house to his heir Toshinaga, and dies.
“The brilliant leader of courage and wisdom, who navigated between Hideyoshi and Katsuie to lay the foundations of million-koku Kaga, could not fulfill his final hope: protecting his friend Hideyoshi’s young heir before his own life ended.”