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The relaxation of ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' obligations in [[1862]] meant that [[han|domains]] no longer needed to maintain mansions and extensive staffs or retainer bases in Edo. Combined with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1868 [[Meiji Restoration]], the [[abolition of the han]] in [[1871]], and the attenuation of samurai stipends, many ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'' abandoned their [[daimyo yashiki|mansions]] in the city in the 1860s-1870s, and returned to their home provinces along with their families and (former) retainers, with many other samurai leaving the city in other ways. Edo thus dropped from a population height of around 1.3 million in the early 19th century to just over 500,000 in [[1869]], returning to peak levels only around [[1889]].<ref>Fujitani, 39.</ref> The dramatic loss of so many consumers from the city over a relatively short period of time also had a significant depressive effect upon the city's commercial economy, from which it also took some time to recover.
The relaxation of ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' obligations in [[1862]] meant that [[han|domains]] no longer needed to maintain mansions and extensive staffs or retainer bases in Edo. Combined with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1868 [[Meiji Restoration]], the [[abolition of the han]] in [[1871]], and the attenuation of samurai stipends, many ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'' abandoned their [[daimyo yashiki|mansions]] in the city in the 1860s-1870s, and returned to their home provinces along with their families and (former) retainers, with many other samurai leaving the city in other ways. Edo thus dropped from a population height of around 1.3 million in the early 19th century to just over 500,000 in [[1869]], returning to peak levels only around [[1889]].<ref>Fujitani, 39.</ref> The dramatic loss of so many consumers from the city over a relatively short period of time also had a significant depressive effect upon the city's commercial economy, from which it also took some time to recover.
Though Tokyo is generally said today to have become the Imperial capital of Japan in [[1868]], when Edo was officially renamed Tokyo, [[Edo castle]] was designated the Imperial Palace, and the [[Meiji Emperor]] took up residence there, in fact there was little agreement at the time that Tokyo was to become (or had become) ''the'' Imperial capital. According to various metrics or definitions, Tokyo was not in fact ''the'' Imperial capital until sometime in the 1870s or 1880s, with some of the most significant [[Meiji government]] officials describing it as an ''[[anzaisho]]'', a temporary court, up until 1889. Figures such as [[Eto Shinpei|Etô Shinpei]] and [[Oki Takato|Ôki Takatô]], the first governor of Tokyo, expressing fears that with the [[Boshin War]] not yet over, Japan might split into east and west, proposed establishing Edo as a second imperial capital, a capital of the East, such that the Emperor might travel between Kyoto and Tokyo, and in so doing watch over the entire country, and enforce unity. [[Kido Takayoshi]] similarly advocated having Edo as an Eastern Capital, [[Osaka]] as a Western Capital, and Kyoto as the Imperial Capital. As a result of these concerns, the Imperial Edict which officially declared Edo "Tokyo" on 1868/7/17 included that "the emperor looked upon ‘the realm as one house, the East and West equally.’"<ref name=fujitani4445>Fujitani, 44-45.</ref>
Though Tokyo is generally said today to have become the Imperial capital of Japan in [[1868]], when Edo was officially renamed Tokyo, [[Edo castle]] was designated the Imperial Palace, and the [[Meiji Emperor]] took up residence there, in fact there was little agreement at the time that Tokyo was to become (or had become) ''the'' Imperial capital. According to various metrics or definitions, Tokyo was not in fact ''the'' Imperial capital until sometime in the 1870s or 1880s, with some of the most significant [[Meiji government]] officials describing it as an ''[[anzaisho]]'', a temporary court, up until 1889. This argument is significantly aided by the fact that the palace was ravaged by fire in [[1873]], forcing the Imperial family to live in the former mansions of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]] (designated the [[Akasaka Temporary Palace]] for the duration) until the new Imperial Palace was completed in [[1889]]. In the meantime, much of the former castle grounds became overgrown and infested with foxes and other wildlife.<ref>Fujitani, 41.</ref>
Figures such as [[Eto Shinpei|Etô Shinpei]] and [[Oki Takato|Ôki Takatô]], the first governor of Tokyo, expressing fears that with the [[Boshin War]] not yet over, Japan might split into east and west, proposed establishing Edo as a second imperial capital, a capital of the East, such that the Emperor might travel between Kyoto and Tokyo, and in so doing watch over the entire country, and enforce unity. [[Kido Takayoshi]] similarly advocated having Edo as an Eastern Capital, [[Osaka]] as a Western Capital, and Kyoto as the Imperial Capital,<ref name=fujitani4445>Fujitani, 44-45.</ref> and [[Inoue Yorikuni]] suggested that in the future they might even establish additional Imperial capitals in [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]] and [[Taiwan]].<ref name=fujitani33>Fujitani, 33.</ref> As a result of these concerns about establishing and enforcing national peace and unity, the Imperial Edict which officially declared Edo "Tokyo" on 1868/7/17 included that "the emperor looked upon ‘the realm as one house, the East and West equally.’"<ref name=fujitani4445/>
Even then, the Imperial House Laws drafted that year still mandated that ''sokui'' and ''[[daijosai|daijôsai]]'' accession ceremonies were to take place in Kyoto. Tokyo was not officially named "Imperial capital" (''teito'', 帝都) until 1889,<ref>[[Albert Craig]] (ed.), ''Japan: A Comparative View'', Princeton University Press (2015), 70.</ref> and as [[Fukuoka Takachika]], one of the drafters of the [[Charter Oath]], insisted, the Imperial Palace, though renamed ''kôkyo'' ("imperial residence") in 1868, was not officially designated "Imperial Palace" (''kyûjô'', 宮城) until 1889 and therefore was only an ''anzaisho'', base from which the emperor went out on Imperial progresses (tours).<ref name=fujitani33/>
Other officials, including [[Okubo Toshimichi|Ôkubo Toshimichi]] and [[Okuma Shigenobu|Ôkuma Shigenobu]] seem to have been less concerned, immediately, with what Tokyo should be or become, but rather with getting the Emperor out of Kyoto, and having him tour the [[provinces]], to be seen by the people, and to be seen surveying the land and the people, in order to reinforce the nationalistic connection between the people and the Emperor (and the nation); these tours were also aimed at turning the earlier conception of the emperor as lofty and aloof from politics into a conception of the Emperor as existing at the center of, or even embodying or being equivalent to, government.<ref name=fujitani4445/>
Other officials, including [[Okubo Toshimichi|Ôkubo Toshimichi]] and [[Okuma Shigenobu|Ôkuma Shigenobu]] seem to have been less concerned, immediately, with what Tokyo should be or become, but rather with getting the Emperor out of Kyoto, and having him tour the [[provinces]], to be seen by the people, and to be seen surveying the land and the people, in order to reinforce the nationalistic connection between the people and the Emperor (and the nation); these tours were also aimed at turning the earlier conception of the emperor as lofty and aloof from politics into a conception of the Emperor as existing at the center of, or even embodying or being equivalent to, government.<ref name=fujitani4445/>
For these reasons, little effort was made in the first decades of the Meiji period to develop Tokyo into a modern Imperial national capital. National monuments, broad boulevards suitable for national parades and large public gatherings only began to be built, for the most part, in the 1880s, and for at least a few years after the Restoration, many former [[daimyo yashiki|''daimyô'' mansions]], as well as much of the Imperial Palace (Edo castle) itself, were simply left to fall into disrepair.
For these reasons, little effort was made in the first decades of the Meiji period to develop Tokyo into a modern Imperial national capital. National monuments, broad boulevards suitable for national parades and large public gatherings only began to be built, for the most part, in the 1880s, and for at least a few years after the Restoration, many former [[daimyo yashiki|''daimyô'' mansions]], as well as much of the Imperial Palace (Edo castle) itself, were simply left to fall into disrepair. In the end, however, this proved a boon to the city's modernization and urban planning in certain respects, as it opened up significant areas within the center of the city which could be turned into public parks or the sites for new government buildings, universities, and museums. Today, the [[University of Tokyo]] (est. [[1877]]) stands on the former grounds of the Edo mansions of [[Kaga han]], the main offices of the [[Ministry of Justice]] stand on the former site of the [[Yonezawa han]] mansion, and the gardens of the lords of [[Mito han]], the [[Koishikawa Korakuen|Koishikawa Kôrakuen]], continue to be maintained and are open to the public.<ref>Plaques on-site at University of Tokyo, Ministry of Justice, and Koishikawa Kôrakuen.</ref>
Further, while there were initially concerns over what would happen to Kyoto were Tokyo to be made the chief, or sole, Imperial capital, in the end the architects of Meiji era discourses of nation and nationalism managed to make both cities serve important purposes in contributing to conceptions of the Imperial institution, and of the nation. While Tokyo represents the modern, politically engaged, and relatively human & accessible Emperor, Kyoto represents the ancient tradition and lofty spiritual power of the Emperor and of his lineage, stretching back unbroken to mythological times.<ref>Fujitani, 28.</ref>
Construction of Tokyo as a modern national capital, including elements which drew upon Western modes of expressing, celebrating, and instilling nationalism through monuments, began in earnest at the very end of the 1880s, and into the 1890s. A bronze statue of [[Omura Masujiro|Ômura Masujirô]], erected at [[Yasukuni Shrine]] in [[1893]], is oft-cited as the first such Western-style bronze statue of a national hero to be erected in Japan;<ref>Fujitani, 17.; Suzuki Eka, "Building Statues of Japanese Governors: Monumental Bronze Sculptures and Colonial Cooperation in Taiwan under Japanese Rule," presentation at 2013 UCSB International Conference on Taiwan Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara, 7 Dec 2013.</ref> many more followed soon after.
The first [[railroads|train line]] in Japan opened in [[1872]], connecting [[Sakuragicho Station|Yokohama]] with [[Shinagawa]] Station in Tokyo; the line was extended before the end of that year to Tokyo's [[Shinbashi Station]].<ref>Plaques on-site at Sakuragichô Station, Yokohama.</ref> By 1889, the first incarnation of the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô Main Line]] was complete, connecting Tokyo by rail as far as [[Kobe]]. The [[Yoshiwara]], and the brothels, teahouses, and prostitutes of a number of other areas were brought under the jurisdiction of the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Police]] in [[1875]].
Construction of Western-style buildings had begun as early as the [[Bakumatsu]] period, but many of the most significant municipal, national, and Imperial structures were only first completed in the 1880s. These include the [[Tokyo National Museum]], designed in its first red-brick incarnation by [[Josiah Conder]] and completed in [[1881]], the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] [[General Staff Office]], completed that same year by [[Giovanni Vincenzo Cappelletti]], and the [[Rokumeikan]], also designed by Conder, and completed in [[1883]] on the former grounds of a secondary residence of the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma han]].<ref>[[Ichioka Masakazu]], ''[[Tokugawa seiseiroku]]'', 1889, reprinted Tokyo: Heibonsha (1989), 29.; Dallas Finn, "Reassessing the Rokumeikan," in Ellen Conant (ed.), ''Challenging Past and Present: The Metamorphosis of Nineteenth-Century Japanese Art'', University of Hawaii Press (2006), 227-239.</ref>
The year 1889 marks a significant shift in the way the Meiji government viewed and treated Tokyo, and thus in the development of the city. In that year, the Imperial family took up residence in the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]], which was completed the previous year after fires destroyed the previous palace (Edo castle) in [[1873]]. The Palace was officially designated an "Imperial Palace" (''kyûjô''), and the city, described for many years by foreign observers and Japanese alike as possessing an empty center, once more had a visible and monumental symbol of political power at its center. Parades and other events surrounding the celebration of the promulgation of the [[Meiji Constitution]] later that year are sometimes cited as the first major modern national ceremonies to be held in the streets of Tokyo. Celebrations of the thirtieth anniversary of the relocation of the capital, held in [[1898]], were another particularly notable event in the evolution of Tokyo's modern & national(ist) festivals.
The [[Akasaka Detached Palace]] and the Hyôkeikan of the Tokyo National Museum, key examples of a later phase of [[Meiji period architecture]], were completed in [[1909]].
The signing of the [[Treaty of Portsmouth]] on September 5, [[1905]], ending the [[Russo-Japanese War]], brought perhaps the first major urban riots of the modern period. Protesting the terms of the treaty, citizens set fire to the prime minister's residence, electric streetcars, and police boxes, in what came to be known as the [[Hibiya Riots]]. The riots continued for the better part of three days before being dispersed on September 7.<ref>[[Anne Walthall]], "Nishimiya Hide: Turning Palace Arts into Marketable Skills," in Walthall (ed.), ''The Human Tradition in Modern Japan," Scholarly Resources, Inc. (2002), 59.</ref>
===Taishô through World War II===
===Taishô through World War II===
By the 1920s, Tokyo was a wholly modern city, a major center of urban & popular cultural developments more or less cutting-edge with New York and other world cities. The city's streets were filled with movie theaters, jazz bars, cafés, and the like, fashion trends brought the "modern boy" and flapper-like "modern girl" (''moga''), and Art Deco and other artistic movements were active in Tokyo just as they were in New York and Paris. The city had already become integrated with many international networks already since decades earlier, with the first YMCA in Japan, for example, opening in Tokyo as early as [[1880]].
Much of the city was devastated, however, in the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake.
Tokyo Prefecture (''Tôkyô-fu''), previously an urban prefecture, or ''fu'', on par with the status [[Osaka prefecture]] (''Ôsaka-fu'') and [[Kyoto prefecture]] (''Kyôto-fu'') retain today, was reorganized into Tokyo City (''Tôkyô-shi'') in 1932, and for a time Tokyo was governed by a mayor.<ref>"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%93%81%E5%B7%9D Shinagawa]." ''Sekai daihyakka jiten'' 世界大百科事典. Hitachi Solutions, 2012.</ref> It was reorganized again, however, in 1943 into Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture (''Tôkyô-to''), becoming the only Metropolitan Prefecture (''-to'') in the country, and retaining that status today.
The last year of the war saw Allied bombing raids destroy much of the city. Though efforts were made to not target the Imperial Palace, for fear that its destruction and/or the death of the Emperor would lead the Japanese people to greater nationalistic determination to go down fighting, much of the city was left completely in ruins. Winds spread the flames, as they had done in countless fires which ravaged Edo and other Japanese cities over the centuries, and the fires surged through neighborhood after neighborhood of mostly wood & paper homes. Some sixteen square miles of the city was turned to ash. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and by some estimates more than two million were left homeless.<ref>"[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/03/15/editorials/legacy-great-tokyo-air-raid/ Legacy of the Great Tokyo Air Raid]," ''Japan Times'', 15 March 2015.; Warren Kozak, "[http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124234559143121723 LeMay and the Tragedy of War]," ''Wall Street Journal'', 9 March 2015.</ref>
===Postwar to Today===
===Postwar to Today===
By the 1970s, fully one-quarter of Japan's population lived in or around Tokyo.<ref>Anne Walthall, Introduction, ''The Human Tradition in Modern Japan'', Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (2002), xvii.</ref> Today, that proportion is even higher.
By the 1970s, fully one-quarter of Japan's population lived in or around Tokyo.<ref>Anne Walthall, Introduction, ''The Human Tradition in Modern Japan'', Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (2002), xvii.</ref> Today, that proportion is even higher.
==Governors of Tokyo==
#[[Oki Takato|Ôki Takatô]]
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#[[Matsuda Michiyuki]]
#[[Yoshikawa Akimasa]]
==Geography & Notable Sites==
Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture extends across a significant portion of what was previously [[Musashi province]], and across the [[Sumidagawa]] to the east, into what was traditionally [[Shimousa province]]. The core of the city is divided into 23 wards, while the remainder of the prefecture's area consists of municipalities to the west, and two small island groups off to the south. While Edo was crisscrossed with canals, the topography of the city itself has been dramatically changed, with many of the canals and rivers redirected, filled in, or built over; the city has also been expanded over the years with construction on landfill built out into Tokyo Bay.
The city was initially divided into fifteen wards (''ku'') in [[1878]]. In 1932, the city was redivided into 35 wards, finally settling into the current designations of 23 wards in 1947.<ref>"[http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/some-interesting-tidbits-about-tokyos-23-wards Some interesting tidbits about Tokyo's 23 wards]," ''Japan Today'', 12 Nov 2012.</ref>
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