Edo Japan, A Virtual Tour

Edo is the ancient name of Tokyo. In the governance era of the Tokugawa shogunate, the emperor of Japan ruled the capital of Kyoto with a gentle dignity, but the center of true power, government, economy, social life was Edo, the shogunate ruled this country. For most people in Japan, Edo is not a city with a long history. There are also symbolic images and meanings. It mostly represents what they think is part of a "traditional" culture. For the Japanese, Edo has a romantic image. It is the image of the Venetian Renaissance in Italy, the Victorian image of London, and the image of the wild West. This website is designed to take you to the exploration of Edo. I hope that it not only provides some fun but also provides some insight into the source of "traditional Japan". The face of modern Tokyo looks very "western", but the spirit of Edo still exists!

Before 1868, Tokyo was called Edo. As a small castle in the 16th century, Edo became the center of politics of Japan in 1603. Decades later, Edo has grown into one of the most populous cities in the world. In the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the emperor and the capital moved from Kyoto to Edo, later renamed to Tokyo. Most of Tokyo was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the air strikes of 1945

Edo is the ancient name of Tokyo. In the governance era of the Tokugawa shogunate, the emperor of Japan ruled the capital of Kyoto with a gentle dignity, but the center of true power, government, economy, social life was Edo, the shogunate ruled this country. For most people in Japan, Edo is not a city with a long history. There are also symbolic images and meanings. It mostly represents what they think is part of a "traditional" culture. For the Japanese, Edo has a romantic statue that can be compared with the statue of the Venetian Renaissance in Italy, the Victorian statue of London, and the western American statue of the West. This website is designed to take you to the exploration of Edo. I hope that it not only provides some fun but also provides some insight into the source of "traditional Japan". The face of modern Tokyo looks very "western", but the spirit of Edo still exists!