Born in 1568 as the son of Maeda Hidetsugu, Toshiie's youngest brother, Toshihide entered Imaisurugi Castle in Etchu together with his father in April 1585. In the Imaisurugi Battle that May, father and son defended the castle with a mere 1,500 men against an attacking force of roughly 5,000 led by Jinbo Ujiharu, Sassa Heizaemon, and Maeno Katsunaga; though only 19, Toshihide is said to have rallied his troops and fought bravely. When his father Hidetsugu was crushed to death at Kifune Castle in the great Tensho earthquake of November 29 that year, Toshihide became castellan of Imaisurugi Castle. With Kifune Castle severely damaged, he relocated the administrative functions there, laying out the town and inviting temples from the surrounding area to develop the castle town. He died young, at age 26, on December 29, 1593 (some sources give February 19, 1594).

A figure who combined the bravery of fighting through an outnumbered siege alongside his father at a young age with the steady diligence to focus, once he became castellan, on civil administration and town development rather than warfare.

The town layout Toshihide developed at Imaisurugi forms the basis of present-day central Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture, and traces of the temple district he created by inviting temples still remain in the city today. His early death at 26 was mourned within the Maeda clan, and his contributions to regional development are remembered in local history.