Nabeshima Naotada was a regular civilian until he died.
The hereditary daimyos were head of the clan and head of the domain. He attended the domain academy as a child, and on the retirement of his father on July 28, 1848, he became the 9th daimyo of Hasunoike Domain. 
In 1869, he was appointed "domain governor" as the title of daimyo was abolished, and with the abolition of the han system and subsequent merger of Hasunoike into the new Saga Prefecture in 1871, he moved to Tokyo. 
In 1884, he became a viscount (shishaku) under the kazoku peerage. A viscount (/vakant/ (listen) VY-kownt, for male) or viscountess (/vakants/, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. 
