The Edo period (1603 to 1868): how Japan lived under the Tokugawa

The Edo period (1603 to 1868) brought about 260 years without a major civil war, under Tokugawa shoguns who ruled from Edo, today’s Tokyo. Three rules shaped it: lords had to alternate between Edo and their home domains, society was fixed into four ranks, and from the 1630s Japanese were banned from travelling overseas. Each left something you can still visit.

This page follows the period from Ieyasu’s appointment to the end of the shogunate, then lists the places to see. It follows Muromachi and Sengoku and leads into Meiji. The castles and samurai houses are in Samurai castles and houses.

When was the Edo period?

It ran from 1603 to 1868. In 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun with his seat at Edo. In 1868 the Meiji Restoration ended the shogunate and put the emperor at the centre of government, and the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo, which was Edo renamed. The US National Park Service describes about 260 years of peace between the two dates.

Why did Edo grow so large?

Because of a rule about where lords had to live. In 1635 the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, made sankin-kotai compulsory. Each daimyo, a regional lord, had to alternate his residence between Edo and his home domain, and his family stayed in Edo as hostages.

Wait, really? A travel rule built a city of a million. It forced more than 250 lords to keep mansions in Edo and to travel in procession along fixed highways. That travel financed post towns, inns and roads along the routes, and it fed a large consumer city at the end of them. By the early 18th century Edo held more than a million people, samurai included, per a reference encyclopaedia.

How were people ranked?

In four tiers, known as shi-no-ko-sho: warrior, farmer, artisan and merchant. Moving between tiers was officially barred. Samurai were about 7% of the population and farmers more than 80%. Outcast groups stood below the four tiers.

Was Japan closed to the world?

Not completely. From 1633 Japanese were banned from travelling overseas or returning, and Christianity was banned. In 1641 the Dutch were moved to Dejima in Nagasaki, which made them the only Western trade partner until 1854. The policy is called sakoku, “closed country”.

Academic writing still counts four contact points: Nagasaki, Tsushima, Satsuma and Matsumae. The Matsumae domain handled relations and trade with the Ainu, and Satsuma was the channel to Ryukyu. Seclusion ended with Perry’s arrival in 1853 to 1854 and the treaties that followed.

What was life like for ordinary people?

Roads and fire shaped daily life.

• Roads: post towns on the highways thrived by serving the lords’ processions.
• Fire: fires were frequent enough that a reported saying calls them, with fights, “the flowers of Edo”. The Great Meireki Fire of 1657 is reported to have burned 60 to 70% of Edo, and the rebuilding reorganised the city and formalised a firefighting force.

See it today

Edo survives in a museum, a trading post, two preserved road towns and a shogun’s palace.

Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum, in Ryogoku, reopened on 31 March 2026 after about four years, per secondary reports. Its permanent exhibit covers about 9,000 square metres. The official fee page was not reachable and the reports disagree on the fee, so check the museum’s page for the fee and closed days. The reports also say it closes on Mondays and stays open until 19:30 on Saturdays.

Dejima’s reconstructed buildings mark where the Dutch traded from 1641.

Narai-juku was designated an important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings in 1978, per its official site. The Magome to Tsumago trail is about 8 to 9 km and takes about three hours.

At Nijo, the official page closes the Ninomaru Palace on Tuesdays in January, July, August and December, and on 26 to 28 December and 1 to 3 January. The grounds close on 29 to 31 December, and the Honmaru Palace closes on the third Monday and the day after.

Before you go Nijo Castle has an official notice of shortened hours on Sunday 6 December 2026. Its closure dates are not tied to a year, so confirm the December and January closures for 2026-27.

Where next?

• Earlier: Muromachi and Sengoku. Later: Meiji.
• The history guide places every era on one timeline.
• Who ruled Japan, the emperor or the shogun? covers how the court and the shogunate related.
• Samurai castles and houses gives fees, hours and winter status for Himeji, Matsumoto and more.
• The temples and shrines guide covers the main sites in one table.
• The Culture hub holds every culture topic, and the culture guide gives the overview.