History of Tokyo

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The history of Tokyo shows the growth of Japan's largest urban center. The eastern part of Tokyo occupies land in the Kantō region that together with the

modern-day Saitama Prefecture, the city of Kawasaki and the eastern part of Yokohama make up Musashi; one of the provinces under the ritsuryō system.

The 23 special wards, including Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shibuya and Shinjuku wards, form the central part of Tokyo. Western Tokyo occupies the Tama district. Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple is Sensō-ji in Asakusa, founded in 628. The name of Edo first appears in the 12th century.

Tokyo , officially the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to), is the capital and the most populous prefecture of Japan. Tokyo's metropolitan area (including neighboring prefectures as well as Tochigi, Gunma and Ibaraki; 13,452 square kilometers or 5,194 square miles) is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents as of 2018; although this number has been gradually decreasing since then, the prefecture itself has a population of 14.09 million people while the prefecture's central 23 special wards have a population of 9.73 million. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan.

Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city emerged into political prominence in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (lit. 'Eastern Capital'). Tokyo was devastated by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, and again by Allied bombing raids during World War II. Beginning in the 1950s, the prefecture underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion efforts, going on to lead the Japanese economic miracle. In 1968, Japan became the second largest economy, only behind the United States. Since 1943, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has administered the prefecture's special wards (formerly Tokyo City), various commuter towns and suburbs in its western area, and two outlying island chains known as the Tokyo Islands.

Tokyo is the largest urban economy in the world by gross domestic product, and is categorized as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. It is also Japan's leading business hub as part of an industrial region that includes the cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Chiba. As of 2023, Tokyo is home to 29 companies of the Fortune Global 500. In 2020, the city ranked fourth on the Global Financial Centres Index, behind only New York City, London, and Shanghai. Tokyo is home to the world's tallest tower, Tokyo Skytree, and the world's largest underground floodwater diversion facility, the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (located in Kasukabe, Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo). The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, opened in 1927, is the oldest underground metro line in East Asia. Recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world, Tokyo was tied fourth with Wellington in the 2021 Global Livability Ranking.

東京都の歴史 (日本語)

東京都の歴史（とうきょうとのれきし）では、現在の東京都の区域における歴史について記述する。

東京都（とうきょうと、英語: Tokyo Metropolis）は、日本の首都。関東地方に位置する都。都庁所在地は新宿区。

区部（特別区23区）、多摩地域（26市と西多摩郡3町1村）および島嶼部（2町7村）からなる。関東南西部にあって東西に細長い都域を有し、東部は東京湾に面する。西部は雲取山を最高峰とする関東山地となる。

行政機関、金融機関や大企業などが集中し、新聞・放送・出版などの文化面、大学・研究機関などの教育・学術面においても日本の中枢をなす。交通面でも鉄道網、道路網、航空路の中心。

東京都と周辺7県で首都圏を構成している。特に東京圏（東京都・神奈川県・千葉県・埼玉県）の総人口は約3500万人に達し、日本の人口の約30%が集中している。東京都市圏としては世界最大級の人口を有する国際的大都市である。