Maeda Matsu

Matsu as she is depicted in a sculpture at the Oyama Shrine in Kanazawa.

In this Japanese name, the family name is Maeda.

Maeda Matsu (前田まつ), also known as Omatsu no Kata (お松の方) (1547–1617), was a Japanese woman of the 16th century. She was the wife of Maeda Toshiie, who founded the Kaga Domain. Matsu had a reputation for intelligence; she was skilled at both literary and martial arts, she fought alongside her clan. She was eternalized for saving the Maeda clan from Tokugawa Ieyasu in Battle of Sekigahara and Siege of Osaka.

Matsu Sacrifice

When the Maeda family was accused of revolt against Tokugawa Ieyasu and being close to the Toyotomi clan, ran the risk of being annihilated by the Tokugawa clan at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Matsu was voluntarily hostage to the capital of Edo, she did not bother to sacrifice herself to ensure the survival of the Maeda clan. After the defeat and extinction of the Toyotomi clan in the Siege of Osaka in 1615, she was free to leave. Matsu eventually died in Kanazawa Castle becoming a figure of great respect for her heroic deed.

Family

• Husband: Maeda Toshiie
• Daughters:
  • Kō
  • Maahime
  • Gōhime
  • Chiyo
  • Sho
  • Yukari.
• Sons:
  • Maeda Toshinaga
  • Maeda Toshimasa (1578)

Cultural references

Actress Matsushima Nanako acted as Maeda Matsu in NHK Taiga drama Toshiie to Matsu in 2002. In the TV mini-series Tenchijin, one of her sons sells her to Tokugawa Ieyasu in order to live.

She is depicted as either playable or non-playable characters in the video games: Devil Kings, Sengoku Basara X, Sengoku Basara 2, Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes, Sengoku Basara 3: Utage (all in which she was armed with naginata and summons beasts), Samurai Warriors 2, Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends, Samurai Warriors 3: Empires, Kessen, and Kessen III.