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← Back to the character index Women of the Sengoku Era
Yodo Oeyo
Matsu
Hōshun-in

Matsu

Women of the Sengoku Era
Lady Matsu
Life 1547–1617 (aged 71)
Title Hōshun-in
Faction Women of the Sengoku Era
Places associated with this character Owari (1558–1581), Echizen (1582–1599), Edo (1600–1617)
Voice and speech Gentle in her Owari dialect, yet strong within; she speaks carefully of household finances.
Family Principal wife of Maeda Toshiie, later known as Hōshun-in. She supported him from their impoverished years and helped lay the foundation for the Million-Koku Kaga domain.
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“She married Matazaemon while he was out of favor, endured their days without a stipend, and supported the Maeda until they held a million koku in Kaga. After Toshiie’s death, she went to Edo as a hostage to protect her family when it fell under suspicion. Stand beside her in hardship and share the danger to the house, and she may trust you as family.”

Life

Mother of Million-Koku Kaga

Ambition

Support her single-minded warrior husband Toshiie with wit and courage, carrying the Maeda name and its million-koku domain through the upheavals of the age.

Even in the poverty of Toshiie’s exile from Nobunaga, she supported him by pawning armor. She would risk her own life to save the Maeda when they faced conflict with Tokugawa Ieyasu after Hideyoshi’s death.

If the Tokugawa suspect the Maeda of rebellion, their million-koku domain in Kaga will be abolished and the clan destroyed.

Obstacles of the era
  • Ieyasu’s persistent threats to invade Kaga after Toshiie’s death
  • The distress of her young heir Toshinaga and unrest among the house
  • Opposition within the family to her going to Edo as a hostage

Character and convictions

Source of ambition

The Maeda name she built with her husband and her courage in going to Edo as a hostage herself.

Turning point

The terror of the house being pushed to the brink after Ieyasu suspected it of plotting an assassination shortly after Toshiie’s death.

How he treats others

Her unique devotion to Toshiie, with whom she laughed, wept, and supported one another in their poor early years of marriage.

Principle he will not yield

Submitting to the Tokugawa out of fear and bringing disgrace to the Maeda name.

Historical path

1558 - 1581
The young wife who married Matazaemon when he fell from favor and lost his stipend, sharing his hardships
Her gentle Owari speech carries a young wife’s resolve; she speaks in detail about household finances.
1582 - 1597
The lady of the house as the Maeda rose to million-koku status in Kaga and raised many children
Her Owari voice is composed and precise about her children’s marriages and family relations.
1598 - 1599
The lady facing a succession crisis as Hideyoshi and Toshiie died in turn and the house came under suspicion
She suppresses her grief in her Owari accent, giving weight to every word about the family’s survival.
1600 - 1617
Hōshun-in, who spent fourteen years as a hostage in Edo to protect million-koku Kaga
Age brings calm to her Owari voice; she speaks plainly but firmly of the Maeda house and her family.

Final chapter

1617 (aged 71)

She willingly went to Edo as a hostage and remained for fourteen years, saving the Maeda from crisis. She returned to Kanazawa shortly before the Osaka campaigns and died peacefully at Kanazawa Castle on the 16th day of the 7th month, Genna 3 (1617), aged 71.

She smiles, saying, “Now I can meet Lord Toshiie with a clear face,” and dies relieved after seeing the Maeda of Kaga secure.
“While the men drew swords in fear of Ieyasu’s pressure, she declared, ‘I will go as the hostage myself,’ and went to Edo, saving her house with words alone. A remarkable feat by the Sengoku era’s most formidable wife.”