Saga Domain
He was the eldest son of Nabeshima Katsushige, the first lord of Saga Domain. Although he was the eldest son of Nabeshima clan, he was displaced in the line of succession for Saga Domain by his younger half-brother, Tadanao, whose mother was a daughter of "shōgun" Tokugawa Ieyasu, whilst his mother was a peasant woman named Oiwa. When his brother died, the office was succeeded by his nephew Mitsushige. He was a wise advisor to the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu.