He Ancient name of Tokyo , Capital of Japan, was Edo, which means"house on the river","near the river"or"entrance to the bay"and which was recognized as the capital of the Japanese Empire.
Edo constituted by more than 250 years the political and economic center of the shogunato (military government) of the clan of the Tokugawa.
During these centuries, the city became an urban center of great size, comparable only with the city of Beijing; It also became one of the cities with the largest population of warriors (samurai).
In 1868, the name of the city was changed to"Tokyo"when it finished of shogunato of the Tokugawa and began the restoration of the Meiji emperor.
From Edo to Tokyo
In 1457, the city of Edo was established, which belonged to Musashi province, current territory of what is now Tokyo.
In 1603, the Tokugawa Shogunate was established, a military and dictatorial government, led by a"shogun"(leader of the armed forces). In theory, the shogun represented the authority of the emperor, but in reality was the ruler of the whole country.
The shogunate of the Tokugawa clan was the third and last of Japan, which took Edo as the center of the government, as well as economic and cultural center.
In this sense, Edo constituted the capital of said shogunate, nevertheless, the residences of the Emperor were in Kyoto, that had been the capital of Japan until 1603.
In September of 1868 fell the shogunato of the Tokugawa and began the restoration Meiji. Shortly afterwards, Emperor Meiji ordered that the capital city, Edo, be renamed"Tokyo", meaning"capital of the east".
History of Edo
During the fourteenth century it was considered that the territory of Musashino province was not similar to other cultural centers and capitals of Japan, such as Nara and Kyoto.
In 1457, Ota Dokan founded the castle of Edo and thus was born this city. However, the fishing villages near Edo were not considered cities until the 16th century.
In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, took Edo Castle as headquarters and, in 1603, Edo became the political center of this shogunate.
Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first Tokugawa shōgun
It should be noted that, between 1600 and 1605, Tokugawa Ieyasu spent most of his time in the cities of Kyoto and Osaka, in order to establish the legitimacy of his power, as well as friendship ties with the most influential families of these two cities .
The first shogun of the Tokugawa clan that actually ruled in Edo was the son of Tokugawa Ieyasu: Tokugawa Hidetada.
In 1657, most of the city was destroyed by a fire, known as the Great Fire of Meikiri. This was because the houses, built in wood and paper and very close to each other, burned easily and allowed the fire to expand rapidly.
Approximately 100,000 people died because of this fire. However, the reconstruction of the city was carried out in a short time, and Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the city grew considerably.
By the middle of the eighteenth century, the total population of the city exceeded one million people, a number that was only matched by Beijing, whose population also increased in this period.
In the first decades of the nineteenth century visitors from other provinces began to arrive, which, attracted by the economic and cultural development of Edo, settled in the city.
In 1868, with the fall of the shogunate of the Tokugawa clan, the city was renamed as Tokyo (3 of September of 1868).
In the same year, Emperor Meiji moved to Tokyo and settled in Edo Castle, which became an imperial castle.
Edo Organization
The city of Edo, capital of the Tokugawa shogunate, was organized around Edo Castle (also known as Chiyoda Castle), which was the headquarters of Tokugawa Ieyasu since 1590.
Sumidawa (the Sumida River) marked the border between Musashi province, which included the city of Edo and Shimousa province. These two provinces were connected by Ryogoku bridge.
Edo was structured as a spiral. Around the city were 36 doors that allowed or denied access to the capital.
Imperial Palace of Edo
On the other hand, the city was divided into sections, which in turn showed the division of society. In this sense, the population was organized as follows:
1 - The merchants, who dwelt in the south-east of the city.
2 - The craftsmen, like the merchants, were to the southeast of Edo.
3 - Farmers.
4 - The samurai and the warrior class lived in the north of the city and, occasionally, in the central part of the city. Most of them had residences in the castles of the city and many of them were also bureaucrats.
Twenty percent of the city's buildings were occupied by merchants, farmers, and artisans. 35% were the mansions of the daimyo (feudal sovereigns) and another 35% were occupied by the samurai. The last 10% were made up of temples.
Edo: Samurai city
Edo is renowned for being a samurai city. This is because the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu stated at the beginning of the 1630s that all daimyos should have a permanent residence in the city.
Thus, the daimyos had to reside half of the year in Edo and, the rest of the year, the relatives of these were maintained like"hostages"so that the shogun had power over the daimyo.
In this way it increased the samurai population to protect the residences of the feudal sovereigns. By the seventeenth century, the number of samurai surpassed 100,000 people, which had not been seen before.
References
- Edo. Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from wiki.samurai-archives.com
- Edo. Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from en.wikipedia.org
- Tokyo. Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from en.wikipedia.org
- What was the old name for Tokyo? Why did it change? Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from quora.com
- History of Tokyo. Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from wa-pedia.com
- A Guide to Samurai Goverments, 1185-1858. Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from afe.easia.columbia.edu
- Tokugawa Period. Retrieved on May 23, 2017, from britannica.com