Edo

Edo is the former name of Tokyo, Japan. Under the Tokugawa shogunate it developed into a major early modern urban center whose population is believed to have exceeded one million by the early eighteenth century, making it by many estimates the largest city in the world at the time. Its growth came from deliberate policies including land reclamation around Edo Bay, planned street layouts, extensive samurai residential districts and a network of waterways supporting transport and commerce. After the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, the city was renamed Tokyo and the emperor's residence moved there from Kyoto, making it the capital of Japan.