page_title: History of Tokyo
section_title: Edo or Tokugawa  period, 1603–1868
hierarchical_section_title: History of Tokyo / Edo or Tokugawa  period, 1603–1868
caption_attribution_description: English: portrait of Tokugawa Ieyasu 日本語: 徳川家康肖像画
context_page_description: The history of Tokyo shows the growth of Japan's largest urban center. The eastern part of Tokyo occupies land in the Kantō region that together with the modern-day Saitama Prefecture, the city of Kawasaki and the eastern part of Yokohama make up Musashi; one of the provinces under the ritsuryō system.
  The 23 special wards, consisting of the districts of Toshima, Ebara, Adachi and Katsushika, form the central part of Tokyo. Western Tokyo occupies the Tama district. Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple is Sensō-ji in Asakusa. The village of Edo was established In the Kamakura period.
context_section_description: By 1590, when the military 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.
  The Edo period (Edo jidai) began when Tokugawa Ieyasu became shōgun in 1603.  He was the effective ruler of Japan, and his Edo became a powerful and flourishing city as the effective national capital. However, Japan's imperial seat and official capital remained in Kyoto, but the Emperor was virtually powerless.
  The outer enclosures of Edo Castle were completed in 1606,  and it continues to remain at the core of the city.
  This period was marked by continuous growth which was interrupted by natural disasters, including fires, earthquakes and floods.  Fires were so commonplace that they came to be called the "blossoms of Edo".
  In 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki destroyed much of the city; and another disastrous fire in 1668 lasted for 45 days.
caption: Tokugawa Ieyasu
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