- Edo Shogunatethe last samurai government
- The Edo Shogunate was a samurai government established in Edo in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was appointed as the Great Shogun. It was the last of the samurai government that began in the Kamakura period, and is also called the Tokugawa shogunate because the Tokugawa family inherited the position of shogun. Also,
Edo castleChiyoda ward, Tokyo
| Other name | Eshiro, Chiyoda Castle |
|---|---|
| castle construction | 1457 |
| address | 1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
- Access to Edo Castle
- 5 minutes walk from JR Tokyo Station
HISTORYEdo Castle, the symbol of the Edo Shogunate
Edo Castle is a flat castle located in Chiyoda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Currently, it is the Imperial Palace where His Majesty the Emperor resides. Edo Castle was the political center of the Tokugawa shogunate and home to 15 shoguns for 250 years. Let's unravel the history of Edo Castle.
- Edo Castle before the establishment of the Edo Shogunate
- Edo Castle was built by Dokan Ota in the first year of Choroku (1457), and later became a branch castle of the Hojo clan in the fourth year of Taiei (1524). Dokan Ota built Edo Castle to suppress the Chiba clan of Boso, a powerful military commander on the Kakubo side. Hie Shrine, Tsukido Shrine, Hirakawa Tenmangu Shrine, etc. that still remain today were recommended by Dokan Ota for protection during the construction of Edo Castle. Dokan Ota's name still remains in Dokanbori. When Dokan Ota was assassinated by Sadamasa Uesugi in 1487, he expelled Dokan Ota's eldest son Moneyasu Ota from Edo Castle and took Edo Castle for himself. It is said that Moneyasu Ota wandered around the country for over 20 years and was finally able to return to Edo Castle in 1505.
In 1524, Hojo Ujitsuna of the Gohojo clan took control of Edo Castle after defeating the Ogigaya Uesugi clan. At that time, Edo Castle was regarded as an important transportation point, as there was Shinagawa Minato to the south, and to the south there was a water and land transportation route that went to Kamakura via Mutsuura (Kanazawa). In 1590, when the Gohojo clan was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attack on Odawara, Edo Castle was also surrendered. In the same year, Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the Kanto region, having been given the eight Kanshu provinces of the former Gohojo clan by Hideyoshi.
At that time, Edo Castle was in ruins because 140 years had passed since it was built by Dokan, and it is said that the land of Edo was a lonely land with grassland and Susukino. In addition to Honmaru and Ninomaru, Tokugawa Ieyasu expanded the Nishinomaru, Sannomaru, Fukiage, and Kitanomaru, and also carried out large-scale expansion and civil engineering work to relocate Dosanbori and Hirakawa to the central part of Edomae Island (Sotohorigawa River), and built Edo Castle. They rebuilt it into something suitable for their own castle. - Edo Castle after the establishment of the Edo Shogunate
- Keicho 8 (1603) Tokugawa Ieyasu, who established the Edo shogunate, embarked on the expansion of Edo Castle through national construction. They demolished Mt. Kanda and completely reclaimed Hibiya Inlet, and while constructing the Sotomorigawa River, they ordered feudal lords from all over the country to transport stones and further expand Edo Castle. The person who designed it at this time was Todo Takatora.
In 1607, he ordered the feudal lords of Kanto, Ou, and Shinetsu to repair the castle tower and stone embankment. Influential military commanders such as Date Masamune and Uesugi Kagekatsu were also involved in this construction. In this year, the Keicho Castle Tower was completed.
In 1611, the Nishinomaru stone wall construction was assigned to the eastern daimyo. Tokugawa Ieyasu had already retired at this time, but his successor, Tokugawa Hidetada, continued to expand. In 1614, the stone walls were repaired, but the Osaka Winter Siege and Osaka Summer Siege took place the following year, and Tokugawa Ieyasu decided to suspend construction of the castle for three years due to the exhaustion of the feudal lords. I did.
After that, after 6 years of Genna period (1618) and 8 years of Kane'i period (1628), Kanda River Ochanomizu was started in Manji 3 (1660). Tenka Fusho was completed with the widening work, which was a major construction project that took more than 50 years.
Later, in 1657, much of the castle structure, including the castle tower, was destroyed by the Meireki Great Fire (Furisode Fire), and the castle tower was never rebuilt after that. - Edo Castle from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era and beyond
- During the Boshin War that began in 1868, the new government army defeated the former Shogunate army in the battles of Toba and Fushimi, and designated March 15, 1868 as the day of the general attack on Edo. The siege network for Edo Castle was completed. However, thanks to a meeting between Katsu Kaishu, the former Shogunate army chief, and Saigo Takamori, the staff officer of the Eastern Expeditionary Forces, Edo Castle was surrendered bloodlessly without being attacked.
On April 11, 1868, Edo Castle was surrendered to the Meiji new government forces, and on October 13, it was renamed Tokyo Castle. After that, in 1869, Edo Castle became the imperial castle and became the residence of Emperor Meiji with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. With the completion of Meiji Palace in 1881, the name came to be known as Miyagi. Many of the buildings that remained from the Edo period were damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake that occurred on September 1, 1923. At this time, the collapsed Wadakuramon (Yagura Gate) was not restored, and the turret part of the repaired Yagura Gate was dismantled. In 1945, Otemon was burnt down by an American air raid. In 1950, it was renamed the Imperial Palace, and remains to this day. - summary
- Most of the current Edo Castle grounds are the Imperial Palace, so the general public is not allowed to enter, except on special occasions such as public visits. but. You can also remember Edo Castle from days gone by from the Imperial Palace Outer Gardens and the public road that also serves as the Imperial Palace running course. Tokyo is rapidly changing as the capital of Japan, and only a few traces of the Edo period remain in place names and some historic sites, but since Edo Castle (Imperial Palace) became Miyagi, it retains a strong trace of the Edo period. It can be said that it is a place where The area around the Imperial Palace is also designated as a special historical site as the ruins of Edo Castle.
Read about incidents related to Edo Castle
- Boshin WarThe Great War that determined the trends of the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration
- The Tokugawa-Edo shogunate, which had lasted for 260 years, ended with the Restoration of Imperial Government, but the Tokugawa family continued to hold power. In response, members of the new government such as the Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa clans sided with the former shogunate in order to seize control of the government.
- One country, one castle ordinanceThe shogunate's daimyo control measures led to the disappearance of more than 2,000 castles.
- After Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo shogunate after winning the Battle of Sekigahara, the shogunate issued the ``One Country, One Castle Rei'' in 1615 to control the feudal lords. is. As you can see from the name, in principle, residence is required for each country (regime country).
- Great prison of AnseiLarge-scale repression by Naosuke Ii
- From 1858 to 1859, during the turbulent period at the end of the Edo period when the Edo shogunate was shaken by the opening of the country and the expulsion of foreigners, Naosuke Ii, the chief elder of the Edo shogunate, suppressed anti-shogunate forces. Great prison.” Hitoshi Tokugawa, the lord of Mito, known as the Joi faction
- samurai lawsEdo period feudal lord control laws including the Genwa Rei
- During the Summer Siege in Osaka in 1615, the Edo shogunate destroyed the Toyotomi family. Immediately after that, the second shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa, issued a set of 13 articles called ``Samurai Laws'' to feudal lords across the country. The laws that set forth the norms for daimyo are the most
- Incident outside the Sakuradamon gateNaosuke Ii assassination case
- On March 3, 1860, the world was shocked. The elder Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside the Sakuradamon gate of Edo Castle (present-day Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) by roni samurai from the Mito domain. Due to an incident called the ``Sakuradamongai Incident'',
- Ako incidentThe revenge incident of the 47 Ako warriors that became the basis for the Chushingura
- Chushingura is a TV drama that is popular during the year-end and New Year holidays. The story of the 47 warriors, including Kuranosuke Oishi, who rose to avenge their master's regrets, has been made into not only television, but also movies, novels, kabuki, and plays. Such “Chushingura”
- sankin kataiDaimyo procession and financial difficulties
- Sankinkotai is a festival in which a procession of feudal lords travels between Edo and Kunimoto. Each domain held a splendid daimyo procession with great pride to demonstrate its authority, which led to the development of highways and post towns, but it is also known that each domain fell into financial difficulties due to huge expenses. Jiang
- ban on christianityIeyasu's ban on Christianity
- Christianity was brought to Japan by Francis Xavier in 1549. Initially, Japanese Christians (Kirishitans) were recognized for their faith, and during the time of Oda Nobunaga, the number of Christians increased mainly in Kyushu and Kinai.
- Laws concerning the Imperial Court and the NoblesThe Edo Shogunate controlled the Imperial Court and the nobles
- The Edo Shogunate issued various laws to regulate feudal lords, samurai, the Imperial Court, and the nobles. For samurai, the second Shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, issued the "Buke Shohatto" in July 1615 (the 20th year of the Keicho era). For the Imperial Court and the nobles, almost
- National isolation"National Isolation" by the Edo Shogunate
- During the Edo period, Japan implemented a policy of national isolation that restricted trade and diplomacy with other countries. However, this was not the original meaning of "national isolation," which was to close the country off and become isolated, and Japan was not in contact with the Netherlands, China (Ming and Qing), Korea, or the Ryukyu Kingdom.
- Great Fire of MeirekiThe biggest fire in the Edo period
- Fires broke out frequently in the city of Edo, so much so that it was said that "fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo." Large-scale fires also occurred frequently, but the largest fire in the Edo period was the "Meireki Fire" that occurred in January 1657 (Meireki 3).
Read biographies related to Edo Castle
- Tokugawa IeyasuThe ruler who ended the Sengoku period
- What impressions do you have of the Sengoku period? For example, the three great heroes of the Sengoku period were Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu established the Edo Shogunate after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Okazaki in Mikawa (currently Aichi Prefecture)
- Tokugawa HidetadaSecond Shogun of the Edo Shogunate
- As time passed from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the Edo period, the warlords changed from a world of war to a world of peace, and the rewards they received increased from land (territories) to swords and tea utensils. It was a time when views changed.
History of the Edo Shogunate, whose government was Edo Castle
| Government office | Edo castle |
|---|---|
| old area | Edo, Toyoshima District, Musashi Province |
| main castle lord | Tokugawa shogun family |
The Edo Shogunate was the samurai government of Japan during the Edo period. It was founded in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who appointed him as the Seii Taishogun and based in Edo (present-day Tokyo). There are various theories about the end of this period, but it is said to have ended in 1867, when the Imperial Restoration was carried out.
Edo Castle column
Introduction column by castle enthusiasts
