Edo
Edo, also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Edo developed into a major early-modern urban centre with a population that is believed to have exceeded 1 million by the early 18th century — making it, by many estimates, the largest city in the world at the time.
Edo’s population and urban footprint expanded significantly due to deliberate policies, including land reclamation around Edo Bay, planned street layouts, large samurai residential areas, and an extensive system of waterways supporting transportation and commerce. The city was home to samurai officials, townspeople, and artisans, and served as a centre of economic activity, urban cultural practices, and administrative organization during the Tokugawa era.
Following the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, the city formerly known as Edo was renamed Tōkyō, and the emperor’s residence was moved there from Kyoto, establishing Tokyo as the capital of Japan. The development of Edo during the Tokugawa period influenced the later growth and urban character of Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration.
History
Before Tokugawa
Before the 10th century, there is no mention of Edo in historical records, but for a few settlements in the area. That name for the area first appears in the Azuma Kagami chronicles, which have probably been used since the second half of the Heian period. Edo's development started in the late 11th century with a branch of the 2=桓武平氏 called the Chichibu clan coming from the banks of the then-Iruma River, present-day upstream of the Arakawa river. A descendant of the head of the Chichibu clan settled in the area and took the name Edo Shigetsugu, likely based on the name used for the place, and founded the Edo clan. Shigetsugu built a fortified residence, probably around the edge of the Musashino Terrace, that would become Edo castle. Shigetsugu's son, Edo Shigenaga, took the Taira's side against Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180 but eventually surrendered to Minamoto and became a gokenin for the Kamakura shogunate. At the fall of the shogunate in the 14th century, the Edo clan took the side of the Southern Court, and its influence declined during the Muromachi period.In 1456, a vassal of the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan started to build a castle on the former fortified residence of the Edo clan and took the name Ōta Dōkan. Dōkan lived in the castle until his assassination in 1486. Under Dōkan, with good water connections to Kamakura, Odawara and other parts of Kanto and the country, Edo expanded as a jōkamachi, with the castle bordering a cove opening into Edo Bay, and the town developing along the Hirakawa River running into the cove, and on Edomaeto, the stretch of land on the eastern side of the cove. Some priests and scholars fleeing Kyoto after the Ōnin War came to Edo during that period.
After the death of Dōkan, the castle became one of strongholds of the Uesugi clan, which fell to the Later Hōjō clan at the battle of Takanawahara in 1524, during the expansion of their rule over the Kantō area.
When the Hōjō clan was finally defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, the Kanto area was given to rule to Toyotomi's senior officer Tokugawa Ieyasu, who took his residence in Edo.
Ieyasu's initial urban vision and the transformation of an unformed settlement (1590–1603)
When Tokugawa Ieyasu first entered Edo in 1590, the area was not yet a town or city in any meaningful sense. What existed was a small fortified residence—commonly called “Edo Castle” —consisting of only a handful of buildings standing on the edge of the Musashino Plateau. To the east of the residence stretched nothing but wetlands, tidal inlets, marshes, and patches of undeveloped wasteland. There was no urban district, no planned streets, and no concentrated population.Recognizing the strategic potential of the site, Ieyasu immediately initiated surveys of the surrounding topography, focusing on the plateau, the Hibiya inlet（日比谷入り江）, and the low-lying marshland east of the "castle". These surveys formed the basis of his first deliberate urban plan. Under his direction, early engineering works began: preliminary modification of the Hibiya inlet, initial attempts to redirect the Hirakawa River, and the earliest stages of constructing outer moats and functional canals.
Although large-scale land reclamation and restructuring would accelerate only after Ieyasu's victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the fundamental conceptual blueprint for transforming Edo from an undeveloped landscape into a governable urban center was already established during this period. This development was not spontaneous or natural—Edo's growth began as an intentional political and military project shaped directly by Ieyasu's vision and administrative control.
Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged as the paramount warlord of the Sengoku period following his victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600. He formally founded the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603 and established his headquarters at Edo Castle. Edo became the center of political power and the de facto capital of Japan, although the historic capital of Kyoto remained the de jure capital as the seat of the emperor. Edo grew from a fishing village in Musashi Province in 1457 into the largest metropolis in the world, with an estimated population of 1 million by 1721.;The Great Reconstruction
After the shogunate was firmly established and especially after 1615, the Tokugawa regime undertook massive expansion works under Tenka-Bushin :
- Expansion of Edo Castle into one of the largest fortified complexes in the world
- Large-scale cutting of the Musashino Plateau for earth
- Reclamation of coastlines throughout Edo Bay
- Excavation of the Kanda River
- Construction of a vast water-control and canal network
Large-scale construction after 1600 was undertaken through shogunate-imposed public works known as Tenka-bushin, which were financed and carried out by the daimyōs and their retainers. Although commonly described as “public works”, these projects were in fact compulsory obligations: the shogunate issued the plans, and the daimyō were required to allocate enormous funds and mobilize their retainer bands or hired laborers to execute them. This system enabled
the Tokugawa regime to reshape Edo's topography on a massive scale, transforming wetlands and coastal shallows into new urban districts.
These early projects laid the conceptual and physical groundwork for Edo's later transformation into a major political and urban center.
;Development under the Second Shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada
Under Tokugawa Hidetada, Edo's urban planning was expanded and systematized. Key developments during his tenure included:
- Expansion of Edo Castle's administrative and residential compounds
- Systematic layout of streets, bridges, and residential quarters for samurai, townspeople, and temple/shrine precincts
- Early water supply initiatives, including preliminary works that would later contribute to the Kanda and Tamagawa waterworks
- Continued reclamation and development of lowlands along the eastern riverbanks
;Development under the Third Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu oversaw the most ambitious infrastructural developments to date, with large-scale urban engineering projects and water supply systems. Notable accomplishments included:
- Construction of the Tamagawa Aqueduct, completed in 1653, which transported water from the Tama River to Edo for drinking and firefighting purposes
- Expansion of the Kanda Aqueduct to supply central districts, temples, and shrines
- Extensive canal and moat works connecting rivers and facilitating transport and flood control
- Further reclamation of coastal and marshland areas, enabling new districts to be established, particularly in the Shitamachi region
- Reinforcement and expansion of Edo Castle fortifications, as well as improved road access linking the castle to provincial routes
Urbanism
Very quickly after its inception, the shogunate undertook major works in Edo that drastically changed the topography of the area, notably under the Tenka-Bushin nationwide program of major civil works involving the now pacified daimyō workforce. The Hibiya cove facing the castle was soon filled after the arrival of Ieyasu, the Hirakawa river was diverted, and several protective moats and logistical canals were dug, to limit the risks of flooding. Landfill works on the bay began, with several areas reclaimed during the duration of the shogunate. East of the city and of the Sumida River, a massive network of canals was dug.Fresh water was a major issue, as direct wells would provide brackish water because of the location of the city over an estuary. The few fresh water ponds of the city were put to use, and a network of canals and underground wooden pipes bringing freshwater from the western side of the city and the Tama River was built. Some of this infrastructure was used until the 20th century.
General layout of the city
The city was laid out as a castle town around Edo Castle, which was positioned at the tip of the Musashino terrace. The area in the immediate proximity of the castle consisted of samurai and daimyō residences, whose families lived in Edo as part of the sankin-kōtai system; the daimyō made journeys in alternating years to Edo and used the residences for their entourages. The location of each residence was carefully attributed depending on their position as tozama, shinpan or fudai. It was this extensive organization of the city for the samurai class which defined the character of Edo, particularly in contrast to the two major cities of Kyoto and Osaka, neither of which were ruled by a daimyō or had a significant samurai population. Kyoto's character was defined by the Imperial Court, the court nobles, its Buddhist temples and its history; Osaka was the country's commercial center, dominated by the chōnin or the merchant class. On the contrary, the samurai and daimyō residences occupied up to 70% of the area of Edo. On the east and northeast sides of the castle lived the chōnin including shomin in a much more densely populated area than the samurai class area, organized in a series of gated communities called machi. This area, Shitamachi, was the center of urban and merchant culture. Shomin also lived along the main roads leading in and out of the city. The Sumida River, then called the Great River, ran on the eastern side of the city. The shogunate's official rice-storage warehouses and other official buildings were located here.The Nihonbashi bridge marked the center of the city's commercial center and the starting point of the gokaidō. Fishermen, craftsmen and other producers and retailers operated here. Shippers managed ships known as tarubune to and from Osaka and other cities, bringing goods into the city or transferring them from sea routes to river barges or land routes.
The northeastern corner of the city was considered dangerous in the traditional onmyōdō cosmology and was protected from evil by a number of temples including Sensō-ji and Kan'ei-ji, one of the two tutelary Bodaiji temples of the Tokugawa. A path and a canal, a short distance north of Sensō-ji, extended west from the Sumida riverbank leading along the northern edge of the city to the Yoshiwara pleasure district. Previously located near Ningyōchō, the district was rebuilt in this more remote location after the great fire of Meireki. Danzaemon, the hereditary position head of eta, or outcasts, who performed "unclean" works in the city resided nearby.
Temples and shrines occupied roughly 15% of the surface of the city, equivalent to the living areas of the townspeople, with however an average of one-tenth of its population. Temples and shrines were spread out over the city. Besides the large concentration in the northeast side to protect the city, the second Bodaiji of the Tokugawa, Zōjō-ji occupied a large area south of the castle.
Housing
Military caste
The samurai and daimyōs residential estates varied dramatically in size depending on their status. Some daimyōs could have several of those residences in Edo. The upper residence, was the main residence while the lord was in Edo and was used for official duties. It was not necessarily the largest of his residences, but the most convenient to commute to the castle. The upper residence also acted as the representative embassy of the domain in Edo, connecting the shogunate and the clan. The shogunate did not exercise its investigative powers inside the precincts of the residential estate of the upper residence, which could also act as a refuge. The estate of the upper residence was attributed by the shogunate according to the status of the clan and its relation with the Shogun. The middle residence, a bit further from the castle, could house the heir of the lord, his servants from his fief when he was in Edo for the sankin-kotai alternate residency, or be a hiding residence if needed. The lower residence, if there was any, was on the outskirts of town, more of a pleasure retreat with gardens. The lower residence could also be used as a retreat for the lord if a fire had devastated the city. Some of the powerful daimyōs residences occupied vast grounds of several dozens of hectares. Maintenance and operations of those residential estates could be extremely expensive. Samurai in service of a specific clan would normally live in the residence of their lord.The hatamoto samurais, in direct service of the Shogun, would have their own residences, usually located behind the castle on the Western side in the Banchō area.
Townspeople
;The Common PeopleEdo was a city with three main social groups: samurai, monks, and townspeople. Among the townspeople, roughly 70% were commoners, making up about half of the total population of Edo. These commoners lived in modest wooden housing called nagaya or ura-nagaya（裏長屋）, which were typically long, single-story row houses, often built along narrow back streets. The commoners who lived in these backstreet nagaya were mostly artisans, craftsmen, laborers, small shop workers, and other lower-income members of the city. Many worked as woodworkers, carpenters, potters, tailors, metalworkers, or food vendors, providing essential goods and services to the community. The larger and more affluent townspeople lived in spacious residences with shops facing the main streets.
The backstreets, or roji, were not merely narrow alleys for passage. They often widened behind their narrow entrances, forming communal spaces similar to Spanish patios or Italian cortiles. These roji served as multifunctional areas where children could play safely under the watchful eyes of their mothers. Women gathered around shared water basins to wash vegetables or laundry, and at the same time, exchanged gossip and news, observing their children at play. This intimate spatial arrangement fostered strong neighborhood ties and created a sense of community.
Each nagaya or roji had a wooden gate called roji-kido or nagaya-kido that could be locked at night. These gates were generally closed around 6 PM and reopened around 6 AM. The keys were held by the nagaya owner or trusted neighbors, helping to prevent late-night intrusions. This system gave residents a sense of safety and helped prevent nighttime crime among the common people, playing a crucial role in maintaining overall public order in Edo.
;Shopkeepers and Landlords
In contrast to the compact and communal nagaya in the backstreets, more affluent townspeople operated shops along the main streets, known as omote-dana. These shopkeepers, or ooya, maintained larger, often two-story buildings, where the first floor was used for business and the second floor for their living quarters. Their prominent placement along the main streets signified both wealth and social status, distinguishing them clearly from the commoners in the backstreets.
Government and administration
Edo's municipal government was under the responsibility of the rōjū, the senior officials who oversaw the entire bakufu – the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The administrative definition of Edo was called Gofunai.The Kanjō-bugyō were responsible for the financial matters of the shogunate, whereas the Jisha-Bugyō handled matters related to shrines and temples. The Machi-bugyō were samurai officials appointed to keep the order in the city, with the word designating both the heading magistrate, the magistrature and its organization. They were in charge of Edo's day-to-day administration, combining the role of police, judge and fire brigade. There were two offices, the South Machi-Bugyō and the North Machi-Bugyō, which had the same geographical jurisdiction in spite of their name but rotated roles on a monthly basis. Despite their extensive responsibilities, the teams of the Machi-Bugyō were rather small, with 2 offices of 125 people each. The Machi-Bugyō did not have jurisdiction over the samurai residential areas, which remained under the shogunate direct rule. The geographical jurisdiction of the Machi-Bugyō did not exactly coincide with the Gofunai, creating some complexity on the handling on the matters of the city. The Machi-bugyō oversaw the numerous Machi where shonin lived through representatives called Machidoshiyori. Each Machi had a Machi leader called Nanushi, who reported to a Machidoshiyori who himself was in charge of several Machis.
Transportation
Water transportation
Water transport served as the logistical backbone of Edo. Bulk cargo, such as rice, timber, charcoal, salt, and other necessities, was carried primarily by boat, since Edo was built on low‑lying terrain with numerous rivers and canals. Studies of urban hydrology estimate that Edo's combined network of rivers, canals, and moats extended for roughly 160–200 kilometers, although the exact figure varies depending on definitional criteria.A key artery in this network was the Onagigawa, an artificial canal ordered by Tokugawa Ieyasu soon after his arrival in Edo, to secure a salt supply route from Gyōtoku to the city. The Onagigawa connected to the Kanda River and the Nihonbashi River, forming part of a broader waterway system that linked Edo Castle, peripheral districts, and Edo Bay. Historical studies of Edo logistics note that such canals were deliberately constructed to support large‑scale inland shipping.
Landing points along these waterways functioned as commercial hubs, each specialized in particular cargo—rice wharves, timber wharves, salt wharves, and so on.
Overland roads
From Nihonbashi in Edo, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Gokaidō, which radiated out to other provinces, forming the centralized road network of the shogunate. These routes served not only for political and military movement, but also for commercial and civilian travel.Within Edo, most people travelled on foot. Officials or wealthy individuals used kago, while samurai sometimes rode on horseback. The road infrastructure—including bridges, pathways, and post‑stations—was designed to accommodate both foot and horse traffic, integrating profoundly with the waterborne transport system.
Economy
During the Edo period, the city of Edo functioned as a vast economic center. Its economy was sustained by a complex system of consumption, supply, trade, rental, and resource circulation, shaped by both high-status samurai and townspeople.Consumption and demand
Many daimyō and their retainers, under the sankin-kōtai obligation, kept residences in Edo, which stimulated constant demand for goods — luxury items, building materials, household furnishings, and food. Their spending power helped drive the city's markets for both everyday and high-quality commodities.In parallel, the townspeople — merchants and artisans — formed a large, economically active class. Among them, lower-income households made frequent use of rental services to access daily goods without owning them outright.
Food supply and distribution
;Agricultural ProduceBecause Edo was densely urbanized with little arable land inside the city, many vegetables, fruits, and other farm products were supplied by the surrounding rural villages. Produce from the nearby lowland areas was delivered daily by boat via Edo's network of canals and waterways. In contrast, produce from the Musashino Plateau was brought into the city overland, carried by farmers on foot or transported by handcarts along gently descending roads leading toward Edo.
;Fish and Seafood
Fish and seafood from Edo Bay were landed daily at the Nihonbashi fish quay. There wholesalers bought from fishers and then distributed to other dealers or retailers.
Retail sales included itinerant vendors known as bote-furi, who carried fish in baskets on a balancing pole and walked through neighborhoods selling directly.
Contemporary sources suggest that the daily transaction value of the Nihonbashi fish market reached 100 ryō per day, which would be roughly ¥10,000,000 in modern equivalent
Salt supply
Salt was a staple commodity for Edo households, used not only in cooking but also in food preservation. Production primarily came from coastal salt fields using iri-hama salt production techniques.Large volumes of salt from the Seto Inland Sea region and other coastal areas were transported to Edo via sea routes.
In Edo, salt wholesalers distributed salt to both merchant households and commoners, helping ensure stable supply for urban consumption.
Timber and building materials
The need for timber in Edo was immense: virtually all buildings were built of wood, and frequent fires meant constant demand for reconstruction.Much of the timber came from remote forest regions. Notably, the Kiso region was a major supplier: under the so-called Kiso-style log transport method, felled logs were floated down the Kiso River on rafts and subsequently shipped by river and by sea to Edo. High-grade woods such as Japanese cypress from Kiso or Kishu were especially prized and used in samurai residences, temples, and official architecture.
In Edo, specialist timber wholesalers near Nihonbashi, Kanda, and other riverfront locales sold wood to carpenters, builders, and affluent clients.
A key center for timber trade and storage was Kiba, established in the Fukagawa area along the Sumida River.
The Kiba district was also advantageous because its waterways allowed for water storage, preserving timber during transport and stockpiling.
Fuel
Charcoal was the dominant fuel for cooking and heating in Edo. It was produced from wood and plant residues in managed coppice forests around Edo, for instance in the Tama / Ōme region, which supplied both wood and charcoal.Wood offcuts and residual timber were often burned, and the resultant ash was collected by itinerant ash buyer. This ash was then sold as fertilizer or used in dyeing processes, such as in indigo dyeing, where the alkaline ash-water played a key role.
In short, charcoal production, wood reuse, and ash recycling formed a biomass-based energy and material cycle.
Textiles, Clothes, and Clothing Shops
Textiles — including silk, hemp, and cotton — played a central role in Edo's economy. These fabrics were produced in regional weaving centers and transported into Edo via coastal and inland water transport.Refined garments such as silk kimono were sold in gofuku-shō, i.e., high-end cloth shops targeting samurai and wealthy merchants. Meanwhile, the commons acquired more modest clothing through local cloth shops or seamstresses. Some may have made their own garments, but many utilized tailors or seamstresses in longhouse communities to sew, repair, or remake clothes.
Rental culture
A distinctive feature of Edo's urban economy was its robust rental system, centered on shops called sonryō-ya, from sonryō meaning “wear-and-tear compensation”.Items commonly rented included cooking pots, pans, ceramics, futon, ceremonial dress, and travel gear.
The business model often included a deposit-like system: when the item was returned undamaged, part of the payment would be refunded.
High demand for rentals was driven by the frequent risk of fire in the city, which discouraged accumulation of many personal possessions. Lower-income townspeople in particular relied heavily on rental-shops to furnish their daily lives with minimal capital outlay.
Resource circulation and recycling
Edo's economy was notable for how thoroughly it reused and recycled materials, forming a highly developed circular economy.Paper: Used washi was collected by itinerant paper-waste-buyer, pulped, and re-formed into sukikaeshi paper. Some of the lower-grade recycled paper was used as “toilet paper” or for lightweight writing.Ash: As above, ash from charcoal and burned wood was collected by ash-buyer and reused in agriculture or for dyeing.Metal-scrap and nails: There were itinerant metal-scrap collectors who went through neighborhoods. The metal-scrap collectors sometimes recruited neighborhood children by calling out “totteke-be”, meaning “take it,” offering small candys or toys as incentives and encouraging them to pick up discarded nails not only from houses but also from backstreets, roji（路地）.Repair and reuse: Broken ceramics were repaired by specialists who fused shards using a mixture and then refired them.Policing and firefighting
Policing
In Edo, law enforcement was administered by the machi‑bugyō, a hybrid judicial‑administrative institution rather than a modern police force. These magistrates presided over both criminal justice and municipal governance, supported by samurai assistants and local collaborators. There were two machi‑bugyō offices in Edo — the North and South magistrates — which alternated in managing civic order, investigations, and other legal matters.Each magistrate office employed a small number of yoriki, higher‑ranking samurai who served as inspectors and administrators, and dōshin, lower-ranked samurai who conducted patrols, guarded prisons, and carried out investigations. According to historical sources, each bugyō office typically had around 25 yoriki and about 120 dōshin, making a total police-administrative staff of about 50 yoriki and 240 dōshin for the city.
Because the formal samurai contingent was limited, the machi-bugyō system also made use of auxiliary assistants known as okappiki, drawn from trusted townspeople by yoriki or dōshin. These men, often familiar with the underworld, aided in intelligence gathering, surveillance, and the apprehension of criminals.
Though not formal government officials, some okappiki were entrusted with a jitte —a policing symbol—when participating in arrests. Their tasks included registering and profiling suspects, collecting tip‑offs, aiding in investigations, and even direct involvement in arrests.
Below the okappiki were the shita-ppiki, lower-level helpers who worked under them. They acted as informants, carried out street-level inquiries, and supported okappiki operations. Compensation for both groups was largely informal: okappiki and their subordinates did not receive fixed salaries, but were rewarded by dōshin or yoriki, or shared in bounty payments when cases were resolved.
Through this layered enforcement network — magistrates, samurai, and civilian auxiliaries — Edo managed to maintain public security even though its formal law-enforcement arm was limited in size relative to the city's population.
Firefighting
Fire was a perpetual and serious threat in Edo, famously captured in the saying “fire and quarrel are Edo's flowers.” The Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, which devastated a large portion of the city, prompted the formal establishment of firefighting mechanisms.By the mid‑Edo period, fire suppression was organized through three main types of brigades, hikeshi :daimyō hikeshi, raised by certain daimyō from about 1643 jō-bikeshi, permanent samurai‑unit firefighters
- and machi‑bikeshi, town firefighting groups composed of commoners — in particular, tobi — organized under their own "kumi", originally the “Iroha 48” groups. Each machi‑bikeshi carried a matoi, a banner symbolizing its unit, which became a powerful cultural icon of Edo's firefighting tradition.