A City that was stunning - Edo before it became Tokyo. The Tokugawa shoguns' capital 1603-1868

A City that was stunning -Edo before it became Tokyo. The Tokugawa shoguns' capital 1603-1868-

Before the year 1590 nobody could have guessed that the remote fort and settlement of Edo on the Eastern Kanto plain would, a little over 100 years later, be the world´s largest city with 1.3 million inhabitants. Samurai lord Tokugawa Ieyasu chose Edo as his new capital, and 15 generations of Tokugawa ruled Japan as shogun from Edo Castle. Edo was populated by samurai and townspeople who developed a distinct culture of their own – kabuki, sushi and ukiyoe prints were all part of their lifestyle. Edo also was the first 100% sustainable city in early modern history – nothing was thrown away for good, everything found a place in recycling. Slowly much of what we experience as “typically Japanese” developed in this storied megacity.