Tokyo - today's capital of Japan - the main city of the country was not always. For a long time Edo (the former name of Tokyo) was a provincial fishing village, but in 1603 the military government of the Shogunate Tokugawa and Tokugawa was founded. Ieyasu chose Edo as its capital. The shogunate's rule lasted until 1868 and remained in history as the Edo period.

The convenient location of the city contributed to the growth of the number of migrants from other parts of the country, and in the 18th century Edo became the largest city in the world. After the Meiji Restoration (1867), the power passed into the hands of the emperor, who moved from Kyoto to Edo and founded a residence in a castle formerly owned by the shogun Tokugawa. In 1868, Edo received a new name - Tokyo, which means "eastern capital."

In the era of the country's isolation (when the Japanese could not leave it and foreigners were banned from entering) between 1637 and 1868, Edo was the center of national culture. And after the opening of the border in Edo, a process of rapid modernization began. It was here that the first railways in Japan appeared, stone houses, factories, trams and telephones; gas and electricity were conducted

Tokyo's rapid development was stopped in 1923 by a devastating earthquake (the Great Kanto earthquake). Almost two thirds of the city's buildings were destroyed immediately, the outbreak of fires completed the destruction of the city, killing more than 143 thousand people. The second heavy test for Tokyo in the 20th century was the American bombardment of World War II.

Reconstruction after the war completely changed the face of the city, there was practically nothing left of the old Edo. Skyscrapers of glass and metal obscured the wooden buildings. Part of the atmosphere of antiquity can be felt if you turn inland from busy streets to quiet quarters, almost all of which have a small Shinto or Buddhist temple and an authentic market. The most traditional areas of Tokyo are Ueno and Asakusa.

Today's Tokyo consists of 23 districts, 27 adjacent cities, one county and 4 territorial units on islands lost in the Pacific. The expansion of the megacity was due to the absorption of nearby territories, each of which was already at that time formed its own structure. Therefore, it is now difficult to single out a single center in Greater Tokyo, Tokyo, rather, it is a motley mosaic of closely adjacent regions - each with its own character and a set of special features.

Fujiyama from century to century in wordless looks at everything that happens in Tokyo

Sakura blooms, like many centuries ago

Tokyo Tower - a symbol of modern Tokyo