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'''Tokyo''' (東京, “eastern capital”) is the capital of [[Japan]] since 1868, when the capital was moved from Kyoto. Prior to becoming the capital, the city was named Edo (江戸, meaning "estuary"). Tokyo is the economic, political, educational and cultural center of Japan, and is situated on the eastern coast of the main island of [[Honshu]].

'''Tokyo''' (東京, “eastern capital”), the capital of [[Japan]], is the economic, political, educational and cultural center of Japan, and is situated on the eastern coast of the main island of [[Honshu]].

Prior to becoming the capital in 1868, the city was named Edo (江戸, meaning "estuary").

[[Image:Tokyo.jpg|thumb|430px]]

[[Image:Tokyo.jpg|thumb|430px]]

==History==

==History==

[[File:Japan country map.jpg|right|220px]]

[[File:Japan country map.jpg|right|220px]]

The Kanto plain was settled by the 3rd millennium BC; modern Tokyo still carries some local names of former villages. Hirakawa-mura, a farming and fishing village on the shores of the Hira river, had a strategic location, commanding land, sea, and river routes along the Kanto plain, In the Yamahura period (c. 12th century), Edo Shigenaga, the military governor of a large Kanto province, erected his castle there, calling it Edojuku.  The castle was rebuilt in 1456 by Ota Dokan, shrines and temples were established around it, and merchants developed nearby ferry and shipping routes. By 1590, when the shogun leader [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] selected Edo as his military headquarters, the settlement surrounding Edojuku boasted a mere hundred thatch-roofed cottages. Ieyasu assembled warriors and craftsmen, fortified the Edojuku castle with moats and bridges, and built up the town. After 1603, he became the effective ruler of Japan, Edo became a powerful and flourishing city as the effective national capital, though Japan's imperial seat and official capital remained in [[Kyoto]].

Tokyo, formerly known as Edo, lies on the Kanto plain, which was settled by the 3rd millennium BC.

Modern Tokyo still carries some local names of former villages. Hirakawa-mura, a farming and fishing village on the shores of the Hira river, had a strategic location, commanding land, sea, and river routes along the Kanto plain.

 

In the Yamahura period (c. 12th century), Edo Shigenaga, the military governor of a large Kanto province, erected his castle there, calling it Edojuku.  The castle was rebuilt in 1456 by Ota Dokan, shrines and temples were established around it, and merchants developed nearby ferry and shipping routes. By 1590, when the shogun leader [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] selected Edo as his military headquarters, the settlement surrounding Edojuku boasted a mere hundred thatch-roofed cottages. Ieyasu assembled warriors and craftsmen, fortified the Edojuku castle with moats and bridges, and built up the town. After 1603, he became the effective ruler of Japan, Edo became a powerful and flourishing city as the effective national capital, though Japan's imperial seat and official capital remained in [[Kyoto]].

 

===Edo in the Tokugawa era (1603-1867) ===

===Edo in the Tokugawa era (1603-1867) ===

The [[Tokugawa]] political system rested on both feudal and bureaucratic controls, so that Tokyo lacked a unitary administration. The typical urban social order was composed of warriors, peasants, artisans, and businessmen, the latter two classes organized in officially sanctioned guilds whose number increased with trade and population growth. Because businessmen were excluded from government office, they nurtured a culture of entertainment, making Edo a cultural as well as a political and economic center.  Edo was the world's largest city in the 18th century, with a population of over one million in 1800. Edo was a significant force in generating social change and economic growth in Japan during the final two centuries of Tokugawa rule. The city's demand for human and material resources resulted in an appreciable migration of people within Japan, the creation of new markets and marketing patterns, and generated improved standards of performance and new tastes for living better.<ref> Gilbert Rozman, "Edo's Importance in the Changing Tokugawa Society." ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 1974 1(1): 91-112. </ref>

The [[Tokugawa]] political system rested on both feudal and bureaucratic controls, so that Tokyo lacked a unitary administration. The typical urban social order was composed of warriors, peasants, artisans, and businessmen, the latter two classes organized in officially sanctioned guilds whose number increased with trade and population growth. Because businessmen were excluded from government office, they nurtured a culture of entertainment, making Edo a cultural as well as a political and economic center.  Edo was the world's largest city in the 18th century, with a population of over one million in 1800. Edo was a significant force in generating social change and economic growth in Japan during the final two centuries of Tokugawa rule. The city's demand for human and material resources resulted in an appreciable migration of people within Japan, the creation of new markets and marketing patterns, and generated improved standards of performance and new tastes for living better.<ref> Gilbert Rozman, "Edo's Importance in the Changing Tokugawa Society." ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 1974 1(1): 91-112. </ref>

The Machikaisho of Tokyo was a warehouse for rice storage that was set up during the Kansei reform period, 1787-33, as a way of ruling Tokyo. This granary provided relief for famished city dwellers and low-interest loans to landowners.  Important schools were established, such  as Shoheiko (1790) for the study of Confucian classics, Kaiseigo (1885) for western learning, and Igakusho (1863) for the study of occidental medicine. In 1877 they merged to form [[Tokyo University]].

The Machikaisho of Tokyo was a warehouse for rice storage that was set up during the Kansei reform period, 1787-33, as a way of ruling Tokyo. This granary provided relief for famished city dwellers and low-interest loans to landowners.  Important schools were established, such  as Shoheiko (1790) for the study of Confucian classics, Kaiseigo (1885) for western learning, and Igakusho (1863) for the study of occidental medicine. In 1877 they merged to form [[Tokyo University]].

===Meiji Era: 1868 to 1941===

 

===Edo renamed to Tokyo (1868)===

An attack by imperial troops on Edo followed hard on the defeat of the Tokugawa forces at Toba-Fushimi in January 1868. Edo Castle surrendered in the early spring and the Tokugawa family and retainers were forced by the new regime to depart for Suruga. Edo was renamed Tokyo ["the eastern capital"] and the new Meiji boy emperor arrived in the fall. Bystanders to this political turmoil, the urban poor, caught between rising prices of rice and fish and the downfall of the old bakufu leadership, commented cynically and often humorously on their predicament through newspapers, broadsheets, handbills, and woodblock prints.<ref> M. William Steele, "Edo in 1868: The View from Below." ''Monumenta Nipponica'' 1990 45(2): 127-155. Issn: 0027-0741  [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2384846 in Jstor]</ref>

An attack by imperial troops on Edo followed hard on the defeat of the Tokugawa forces at Toba-Fushimi in January 1868. Edo Castle surrendered in the early spring and the Tokugawa family and retainers were forced by the new regime to depart for Suruga. Edo was renamed Tokyo ["the eastern capital"] and the new Meiji boy emperor arrived in the fall. Bystanders to this political turmoil, the urban poor, caught between rising prices of rice and fish and the downfall of the old bakufu leadership, commented cynically and often humorously on their predicament through newspapers, broadsheets, handbills, and woodblock prints.<ref> M. William Steele, "Edo in 1868: The View from Below." ''Monumenta Nipponica'' 1990 45(2): 127-155. Issn: 0027-0741  [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2384846 in Jstor]</ref>