The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period, lasted from 1603 to 1868. This era was marked by nearly 260 years of peace and stability under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, which was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after his victory at the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Sengoku-Jidai" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Battle of Sekigahara</a>. During the Edo period, <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Japan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Japan</a> implemented a strict social order based on Confucian principles, dividing society into four main classes: samurai, peasants, artisans, and merchants, with the samurai class at the top. This period was characterized by the policy of sakoku, or national isolation, which severely limited foreign influence and trade; only the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Netherlands" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dutch</a> and <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-China" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chinese</a> were allowed restricted trade through the port of Nagasaki. Economically, the period saw significant growth and urbanization. The development of a vibrant merchant class and the rise of a consumer culture led to the flourishing of arts and culture, including kabuki theater, ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and the tea ceremony. Intellectually, the Edo period was a time of learning and education, spreading literacy and scholarly pursuits among the samurai and common people alike. Native learning, or Kokugaku, emerged to promote Japanese thought and Shinto religion, often in reaction against Confucian and Buddhist influences. The period came to an end when the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Meiji-Era" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meiji Restoration</a> of 1868, which restored imperial rule and set Japan on a path of rapid modernization and industrialization.

Visual Timelines

Edo Period Timeline

Edo Period Timeline

Prologue

Red Seal Trade

Early Edo Period

Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes shogun

Ieyasu abdicates in favor of his third son

Invasion of Ryukyu

Nossa Senhora da Graça incident

Hasekura Tsunenaga

Siege of Osaka

Tokugawa Iemitsu

Sankin-kōtai

Policy of Japanese National Seclusion

Shimabara Rebellion

Kan'ei Great Famine

Middle Edo Period

Tokugawa Ietsuna

Shakushain's revolt

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi

Jōkyō uprising

Wakan Sansai Zue published

Tokugawa Yoshimune

Liberalization of Western knowledge

Kyōhō Reforms

Tokugawa Ieshige

Great Tenmei famine

Late Edo Period

Kansei Reforms

Edict to Repel Foreign Vessels

Tenpō famine

Arrival of the Black Ships

Decline: Bakumatsu period

End of the Sakoku

Nagasaki Naval Training Center established

Treaty of Tientsin

Japanese Embassy to the United States

Sakuradamon Incident

Order to expel barbarians

Shimonoseki campaign

Tenchūgumi incident

Mito Rebellion

Kinmon incident

First Chōshū expedition

Second Chōshū expedition

Tokugawa Yoshinobu

Western military training

End of the Edo Period

Meiji Restoration

Boshin War

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