Edo
Edo was the castle town that became Japan’s political center under the Tokugawa shogunate and was renamed Tokyo in 1868.
Edo Castle: A Japanese castle that became the Tokugawa shoguns’ seat of government and the center of modern Tokyo. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s choice of this castle anchored Edo’s transformation into a political capital.
Sankin-kōtai: A Tokugawa policy requiring daimyo to alternate residence between their domains and Edo. Daimyo travel and household maintenance kept regional lords tied to the capital.
Edo-period literature: Writing produced in Japan during the Tokugawa period, including fiction, poetry, and drama. Edo’s urban audiences and publishing trade supported a flourishing literary culture.
Tokugawa peace: The prolonged internal peace maintained in Japan under Tokugawa rule from the early seventeenth century to 1868. The capital’s stability depended on, and helped administer, this long period without civil war.
Kyoto: A Japanese city that served as the imperial capital for much of Japan’s history. The emperor’s court remained in Kyoto while the shogunate governed from Edo.
Tokugawa Ieyasu: The founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868. He established his government at Edo in 1603.
Daimyo: Powerful Japanese territorial lords who governed domains under the shogunate. Their required presence in Edo helped make it a vast administrative and service center.
Ukiyo-e: A Japanese art genre of woodblock prints and paintings depicting subjects such as theater, travel, and urban life. Prints captured the fashions, entertainments, and landscapes of Edo.
Edo period population: The changing population of Japan during the Tokugawa era, including the growth of major cities. Edo’s expansion made it one of the world’s largest cities by the early modern era.
Osaka: A major Japanese city that became a leading center of commerce during the Edo period. Osaka’s merchant economy contrasted with Edo’s concentration of political authority.