Edo in the 17th century

Timeline

1. 1603–1650Edo · KantōIn 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu established the shogunate at Edo, transforming the sparsely populated bay town into Japan's political center. The shogunate vigorously built Edo Castle and its network of moats, and compelled outside daimyo to alternate residence (sankin-kōtai), driving rapid expansion of population and commerce; by the 1640s the population was estimated at over 200,000.
2. 1657–1660Edo · KantōThe Great Meireki Fire of January 1657 was the largest fire in Edo's history, burning for three days, destroying about two-thirds of the urban area, and killing an estimated over 100,000. The shogunate swiftly led post-disaster reconstruction: widening streets, setting up firebreaks (hiyokechi), and relocating daimyo residences outside the castle, laying the basic skeleton of Edo's early-modern urban layout.
3. 1661–1700Edo · KantōRebuilt Edo experienced high-speed growth, with population estimated at over one million by the end of the 17th century, surpassing contemporary London and Beijing and becoming one of the world's largest cities. Commercial streets, temples and shrines, and theaters (kabuki) stood in abundance, and chōnin culture flourished, laying the foundation for the cultural prosperity of the Genroku era (1688–1704).