Edo (Tokugawa Era)

Timeline

1. 1603Edo Castle · EdoAfter receiving the title of shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu designated Edo as the shogunate's main castle, shifting the political center eastward from Kyoto and laying the foundation for early modern Japan's Edo-centered ruling order.
2. 1610–1620Edo castle town · EdoUnder the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, large-scale land reclamation and dredging of the Kanda River and Nihonbashi area proceeded; samurai residences and merchant districts advanced together, and Edo took shape as a city balancing consumption and administration rather than a mere military stronghold.
3. 1700–1800Edo · EdoSankin-kōtai and the merchant economy drove the population past one million; districts such as the shitamachi, Ueno, and Asakusa matured, and ukiyo-e, kabuki, and publishing converged, making Edo one of East Asia's largest consumer cities.
4. 1868Tokyo · KantōAfter the shogunate's end, the new government renamed Edo Tokyo and made it the capital; the Tokugawa-era chapter of Edo as a political-cultural city thus ended, and the city entered its modern transformation.