江戸(えど)

えど
noun
Edo (old name for Tokyo); Edo period
geographyproper-nounplace-name
1. Edo (old name for Tokyo)
The historical name for what is now Tokyo. Used as the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate from 1603 to 1868.
江戸(えど)は今(いま)の東京(とうきょう)です。
Edo is present-day Tokyo.
明治(めいじ)維新(いしん)のとき、江戸(えど)は東京(とうきょう)に改名(かいめい)された。
At the time of the Meiji Restoration, Edo was renamed to Tokyo.
ガイドブックを片手(かたて)に、かつての江戸(えど)の面影(おもかげ)が残(のこ)る場所(ばしょ)を訪(たず)ねて歩(ある)いた。
Guidebook in hand, I walked around visiting places where traces of old Edo remain.
2. Edo period (1603–1868)
The historical period when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. Often used as a modifier to describe things from that era.
江戸(えど)時代(じだい)には侍(さむらい)がいた。
There were samurai during the Edo period.
この城(しろ)は江戸(えど)時代(じだい)の初(はじ)めに建(た)てられた。
This castle was built at the beginning of the Edo period.
歌舞伎(かぶき)や浮世絵(うきよえ)など、江戸(えど)時代(じだい)に発展(はってん)した文化(ぶんか)は今(いま)でも人気(にんき)がある。
Culture that developed during the Edo period, such as kabuki and ukiyo-e, is still popular today.

江戸(えど) was the old name for what is now 東京(とうきょう). It served as the seat of the 徳川(とくがわ)幕府(ばくふ) (Tokugawa shogunate) from 1603 to 1868, and the name was changed to 東京(とうきょう) at the 明治(めいじ)維新(いしん).

Compounds

  • 江戸(えど)時代(じだい) — the Edo period (1603–1868)
  • 江戸(えど)幕府(ばくふ) — the Edo shogunate (Tokugawa shogunate)
  • 江戸(えど)前(まえ) — Edomae; in the Edo style (especially sushi)
  • 江戸(えど)城(じょう) — Edo Castle (now the site of the Imperial Palace)

Cultural note

The Edo period is one of the most important eras in Japanese history, known for over 250 years of relative peace, the development of urban culture, and Japan's policy of national isolation (鎖国(さこく)). Many aspects of modern Japanese culture — kabuki, ukiyo-e, sushi — originated or flourished during this time.

Related Words

Related: 明治(めいじ) (Meiji era (1868-1912))
general
Added 2026.3.25 21:57 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
19000/19369_edo