History

A small settlement called Edo existed, probably for centuries before it appeared in Japanese history, in the area that is now Tokyo. However, the founding date of the city of Tokyo is generally considered to be 1457 A.D., when a castle and fortifications were completed at Edo. From 1603 to 1868 Edo was the residence of the shoguns, the military governors who were the real rulers of Japan. After the Emperor Mutsuhito regained political power for the monarchy, he established his capital at Edo in 1868, renaming it Tokyo (“eastern capital”).

As the national capital, Tokyo was the center of the movement to modernize and westernize Japan. Railroads, telephone and telegraph communication, and electric lighting were all introduced into Tokyo before 1880. In 1923 a disastrous earthquake, followed by a fire, destroyed more than half of the city. (One of the few buildings to be undamaged was the Imperial Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to withstand earthquakes.) During World War II American and British bombing raids caused even greater destruction than the 1923 earthquake, although the modern business district sustained little damage.

After the Japanese surrender, Tokyo became the headquarters for the Allied occupation government in Japan (1945–52). In the postwar period Tokyo was rapidly rebuilt. In 1964 Tokyo was host to the Summer Olympic Games.

A development since 1965 has been the construction of a number of high-rise buildings, the most notable of which is the 60-story, 792-foot (240-m) Sunshine City (completed in 1978) and the 48-story, 802-foot (244-m) city hall (completed in 1991). A new airport at Narita, 38 miles (60 km) east of the city, was opened in 1978. Tokyo Disneyland theme park was opened in 1983.

In 1995 terrorists belonging to a fanatical religious sect released poison gas on a Tokyo subway train. Twelve persons were killed and hundreds had to be hospitalized.

Population: 8,130,408.