Tsunanori was born at the Maeda clan residence in
Edo as the eldest son of
Maeda Mitsutaka. His mother was the daughter of
Tokugawa Yorifusa of
Mito Domain. Mitsutaka died in 1645 at the age of 29, leaving the domain in the hands of his 2-year-old son, and by order of the
Tokugawa shogunate, Tsunanori's uncle,
Maeda Toshitsune was named regent. Tsunanori was called Matsudaira Inuchiyo-maru in his youth, He underwent the
genpuku ceremony (a coming-of-age ceremony) in 1654, with
Shōgun Tokugawa Ietsuna 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 (also known as Matsu-hime), the daughter of
Hoshina Masayuki of
Aizu Domain. 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. Also in 1658, Toshitsune died, and Tsunanori was finally able to take full control of the domain at the age of 15. One of his first steps was to initiate a
land reform 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's suppression of the
Ikkō-ikki. 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 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 gardens in Kanazawa. In 1689, under
Shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the domain was accorded the same courtesy in audiences in
Edo Castle as was extended to the
Gosanke, and the
kokudaka of the domain was reassessed at 1 million
koku. Tsunanori retired from public life in 1723 and died in 1724 at the age of 80. ==Family==