Viscount was a Japanese politician who was Minister of Communications and Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the pre-war

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

Biography

Toshisada Maeda was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, as the eldest son of Maeda Toshiaki, the final ''

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 no ...

'' of

Nanokaichi Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Nanokaichi ''jin'ya'' in what is now part of the city of Tomioka, Gunma. Parts ...

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

, and inherited his father’s ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage title of ''shishaku'' (

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

). His brother, Toshinari, was a general in the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

. Toshisada Maeda was a graduate of

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

. He served briefly in the infantry during the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

in 1894, and afterwards assumed his family’s seat in the House of Peers of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

. In 1922, he was appointed Minister of Communications in the cabinet of

Katō Tomosaburō Marshal-Admiral Viscount was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1922 to 1923. Early life and education Born in Hiroshima, Aki Province (modern Hiroshima Prefecture) to a ''sam ...

. He subsequently served in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Kiyoura Keigo Count was a Japanese politician. He was the Prime Minister of Japan in 1924, during the period which historians have called the "Taishō Democracy". Early life and education Kiyoura was born Ōkubo Fujaku in Kamoto District, Kumamoto, Kamoto, ...

as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. He retired from public life in January 1944, and died in October of the same year. He was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Sacred Treasures The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...

, 1st class. Maeda studied poetry under Sasaki Nobutsuna. His daughter married post-war

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Katsuo Okazaki was a Japanese diplomat, politician and sportsman. He served as the Japanese foreign minister in the 1950s. He was also the final – and only Japanese – chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council. Early life Okazaki was born on 10 July 189 ...

Family tree

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maeda, Toshisada 1874 births 1944 deaths University of Tokyo alumni Kazoku Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Maeda clan Government ministers of Japan Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure