 In 1771, his brother Maeda Shigemichi officially retired, and he became "daimyō".He was received in formal audience by "Shōgun" Tokugawa Ieharu the same year, and was granted a "kanji" from Ieharu's name, becoming Maeda Harunaga.In 1792, he established the Kaga Domain's han school, Meirin-dō, and is also noted for restoring the famed Kenroku-en gardens.