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Edo Castle (江戸城 -jō) was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in what is now the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, but was then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here, and as the residence of the shogun and location of the bakufu, it functioned as the military capital during the Edo period of Japanese history. Along with the Meiji Restoration, it became the residence of the Emperor of Japan, with the name Kokyo. Some moats, walls and ramparts survive. However, during the Edo period, the grounds were much more extensive, with Tokyo Station and the Marunouchi section of the city lying within the outermost moat. It also encompassed Kita-no-maru Park, the Nippon Budokan Hall and other landmarks of the area.
Early history
Around the end of the Heian or the beginning of the Kamakura period, Edo Shigetsugu became the first the warrior to establish his base in the area. He built his residence in what is now the Honmaru and Ninomaru part of Edo Castle. The Edo clan perished in the fifteenth century as a result of uprisings in the Kanto region, and Ota Dokan, a retainer of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi family, built Edo Castle in 1457.
The castle came under the control of the Late Hojo clan. The Siege of Odawara of 1590 left the castle vacant, and when Toyotomi Hideyoshi offered Tokugawa Ieyasu six eastern provinces, Ieyasu accepted, making Edo Castle his base. He later defeated Toyotomi Hideyori, son of Hideyoshi, at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, and emerged as the political leader of Japan.
Edo period
Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of Seii Taishogun in 1603. Edo Castle was the center of Tokugawa administration. The grounds grew with the addition of Nishinomaru, Nishinomaru-shita, Fukiage, and Kitanomaru to the existing Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru. The perimeter measured 16 km. Ieyasu mobilized the daimyo to carry out the construction, which reached completion in 1636, while his grandson Iemitsu was shogun.
At times, Edo Castle had a donjon in the style typical of castles of Japan. However, earthquakes and fires took their toll, and throughout most of the Edo period (and since), it had no such structure. Despite this, jidaigeki (such as Abarembo Shogun) set in Edo usually depict Edo Castle as having a donjon, and substitute Himeji Castle for that purpose.
On April 21, 1701, in Matsu no Ōrōka (the Great Pine Corridor) of Edo Castle, Asano Takumi-no-kami drew his short sword and attempted to kill Kira Kozuke-no-suke for terribly insulting him. This triggered the events of the Forty-seven Ronin.
Modern Tokyo
Many place names in Tokyo derive from Edo Castle. Otemachi ("the town in front of the great gate"), Takebashi ("the Bamboo Bridge"), Toranomon ("the Tiger Gate"), Uchibori Dōri ("Inner Moat Street"), Sotobori Dōri ("Outer Moat Street"), and Marunouchi ("Within the enclosure") are examples.
Edo castle was renamed Tokyo-jō (東京城, "Tokyo castle") in October, 1868, then Kōjō (皇城, "Imperial castle") in 1869, and Kyūjō (宮城, "Palace castle ") in 1888. Finally, it became the Kōkyo (皇居, "Imperial Palace", literally "Imperial Residence") in 1948.
Castles in Japan | history of Tokyo | buildings and structures in Tokyo
"Edo Castle"