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.
江戸は今の東京です。
Edo is present-day Tokyo.
明治維新のとき、江戸は東京に改名された。
At the time of the Meiji Restoration, Edo was renamed to Tokyo.
ガイドブックを片手に、かつての江戸の面影が残る場所を訪ねて歩いた。
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.
江戸時代には侍がいた。
There were samurai during the Edo period.
この城は江戸時代の初めに建てられた。
This castle was built at the beginning of the Edo period.
歌舞伎や浮世絵など、江戸時代に発展した文化は今でも人気がある。
Culture that developed during the Edo period, such as kabuki and ukiyo-e, is still popular today.
江戸 was the old name for what is now 東京. It served as the seat of the 徳川幕府 (Tokugawa shogunate) from 1603 to 1868, and the name was changed to 東京 at the 明治維新.
COMMON COMPOUNDS:
- 江戸時代 — the Edo period (1603–1868)
- 江戸幕府 — the Edo shogunate (Tokugawa shogunate)
- 江戸前 — Edomae; in the Edo style (especially sushi)
- 江戸城 — 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). Many aspects of modern Japanese culture — kabuki, ukiyo-e, sushi — originated or flourished during this time.