Tokyo, the capital of Japan, home to more than 37 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, almost the same as the total population of Spain.
Tokyo is founded in 1457 under the name of Edo (江戸), with the construction of Edo Castle, the work of Ōta Dōkan (太田道灌), a samurai vassal of the Uesugi clan.
In the year 1590 the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康) took the castle and in the year 1603 established his government here. With this fact, the Edo period (江戸時代) began, which would last until the year 1868.
At the end of this year, with the change of government at the beginning of the Meiji Era, the emperor moved to Edo Castle, turning it into the Imperial Palace and renaming the city with the name of Tokyo. In the year 1871 the fiefdoms were abolished and the prefectures were created, including Tokyo with its 23 special wards.
In the year 1872 the first railway line began to be built and in 1885 the Yamanote circular line (山手線) was inaugurated, which will be the most used on our trip through Tokyo.
In 1923 the great Kantō earthquake (関東大震災) occurs, leaving the city devastated and approximately 143,000 dead.
At the beginning of the year 1936, the Incident of February 26 (二・二六事件) occurs, an attempted coup carried out by about 1,400 young officers of the imperial army.
They assassinated several high officials, including some ministers, but were unable to assassinate then-Prime Minister Keisuke Okada (岡田 啓介) or take control of the imperial palace. Two days later they surrendered.
During World War II, Tokyo was heavily bombed and, after Japan’s surrender, the city was occupied by Allied forces. At present, the United States Army still maintains Yokota Air Base (横田空軍基地) and several barracks.
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