Maeda Norikuni (前田則邦)
Norikuni MAEDA (1847 - 1915) was a painter and a statesman. He was a son of Toshitami MAEDA, who was the second son of Toshitsuyo MAEDA, the ninth lord of Toyama Domain. His childhood name was Taketaro. He was also known as Tamikuni and Harue. He was elected as the first mayor of Toyama City for the term, June 2, 1889 - May 27, 1895. He was awarded 500-koku enfeoffment and a family name, WAKATSUCHI, and became a retainer in 1854. He reclaimed his former family name, MAEDA, in 1875. Since then, he successively worked in different positions: a head of Toyama Normal School, head of Nei, Kaminiikawa, and Nakaniikawa Districts, president of Juni Bank (the predecessor of Hokuriku Bank), which was established in 1878. He was also known as an artist and left his sansui-ga work.