Portal:Tokyo

The Tokyo Portal

Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the largest cities in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and parts of six neighboring prefectures, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with 41 million residents as of 2024^[update].

Lying at the head of Tokyo Bay, Tokyo is part of the Kantō region, on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. It is Japan's economic center and the seat of the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers Tokyo's central 23 special wards, which formerly made up Tokyo City; various commuter towns and suburbs in its western area; and two outlying island chains, the Tokyo Islands. Although most of the world recognizes Tokyo as a city, since 1943 its governing structure has been more akin to that of a prefecture, with an accompanying Governor and Assembly taking precedence over the smaller municipal governments that make up the metropolis. Special wards in Tokyo include Chiyoda, the site of the National Diet Building and the Tokyo Imperial Palace; Shinjuku, the city's administrative center; and Shibuya, a hub of commerce and business. Tokyo is an international hub of research and development and an academic center, with several major universities, including the University of Tokyo, the top-ranking university in Japan. Tokyo Station is the central hub for the Shinkansen, the country's high-speed railway network; and the city's Shinjuku Station is the world's busiest train station. Tokyo Skytree is the world's tallest tower. The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, which opened in 1927, is the oldest underground metro line in the Asia–Pacific region.

Before the 17th century, Tokyo, then known as Edo, was mainly a fishing village. It gained political prominence in 1603 when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was among the world's largest cities, with over a million residents. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, and the city was renamed Tokyo (lit. 'Eastern Capital'). Tokyo was greatly damaged by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and by allied bombing raids during World War II. From the late 1940s, Tokyo underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion, which fueled the Japanese economic miracle, in which Japan's economy became the second-largest in the world at the time, behind that of the United States. As of 2023^[update], Tokyo is home to 29 of the world's 500 largest companies, as listed in the annual Fortune Global 500—the second highest number of any city. Tokyo was the first city in Asia to host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, in 1964 and then in 2021. It also hosted three G7 summits, in 1979, 1986, and 1993. (Full article...)

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The haiden (hall of worship)

Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社 or 靖國神社, Yasukuni Jinja, lit. 'Peaceful Country Shrine') is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 respectively, and the First Indochina War of 1946–1954. The shrine's purpose has been expanded over the years to include those who died in the wars involving Japan spanning from the entire Meiji and Taishō periods, and the earlier part of the Shōwa period.

The shrine lists the names, origins, birthdates and places of death of 2,466,532 people. Among those are 1,066 convicted war criminals from the Pacific War, twelve of whom were charged with Class A crimes (the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war). Eleven were convicted on those charges, with the twelfth found not guilty on all such charges, though he was found guilty of Class B war crimes. The names of two more men charged with Class A war crimes are on the list but one died during trial and one before trial so they were never convicted. (Full article...)

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Tokyo Midtown (東京ミッドタウン, Tōkyō Middotaun) is a 569,000-square-meter (6.1 million sq ft) mixed-use development in Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan. Completed in March 2007, the $3 billion (¥370 billion) project includes office, residential, commercial, hotel, and leisure space, and the new quarters of the Suntory Museum of Art. When completed, the Midtown Tower was the tallest building in Tokyo. The main building complex is surrounded by Hinokicho Park, a 10 acre public park containing green areas along with works of art.

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WikiProjects

You are invited to participate in the Tokyo task force, a task force dedicated to developing and improving articles about the Tokyo metropolis, including the Special wards of Tokyo, West Tokyo, and the islands.

General images

The following are images from various Tokyo-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A Torii Kiyomasu painting of kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro I playing Soga Tokimune. This was likely one of the most popular ukiyo-e actor prints (from History of Tokyo)
Image 2Hokusai's painting of the 47 ronin storming Kira Yoshinaka's mansion (from History of Tokyo)
Image 3A leaflet dropped by the U.S. over Tokyo during the bombings, urging civilians to leave the city (from History of Tokyo)
Image 4The Tokyo Skytree in 2014 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 5The Metropolitan Police Department burning at Marunouchi, near Hibiya Park during the 1923 earthquake (from History of Tokyo)
Image 6A scene of the 2020 Summer Olympics' opening ceremony, where 1,824 drones formed the Games' logo. (from History of Tokyo)
Image 7The five-story pagoda of Kan'ei-ji, which was constructed during the reign of Tokugawa Hidetada and required the building of the Kimon (Devil's Gate) (from History of Tokyo)
Image 8Police officers and Japan Defense Force troops responding to the scene of the 1995 subway sarin attack (from History of Tokyo)
Image 9Toyota Crown Comfort Nihon Kotsu Taxi (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 10A section of the Tamagawa Josui in an 1856 painting by Hiroshige (from History of Tokyo)
Image 11Tokyo's 23 special wards, one part of the Tokyo Metropolis prefecture (from History of Tokyo)
Image 12A Tokyo taxi driver indicating a fare of 50 Sen by holding up five fingers, in 1932 (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 13A view of the IMTFE in session (from History of Tokyo)
Image 14An 1814 handscroll depicting the Great Fire of Meireki (from History of Tokyo)
Image 15A painting of the new Tokyo Imperial Palace (from History of Tokyo)
Image 16Otoya Yamaguchi preparing to stab Inejiro Asanuma a second time (from History of Tokyo)
Image 17Japanese children in ruins, Tokyo, 1945 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 18JR Yamanote Line (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 19The Ginza Line, Asia's oldest subway line, first opened in 1927 (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 20A German map of Tokyo from 1896 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 21Marunouchi (from Special wards of Tokyo)
Image 22Folding screen view of Edo in the 17th century, showing Edo Castle on the upper right corner (from History of Tokyo)
Image 23The 1964 Summer Olympics closing ceremony (from History of Tokyo)
Image 24Tokyo Imperial University's law building before 1902 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 25Asakusa (from Special wards of Tokyo)
Image 26Nihonbashi Bridge, in a c. 1838–1842 painting by Hiroshige (from History of Tokyo)
Image 27The Kabukicho district of Shinjuku in 1982, before police cracked down on its illegal activities (from History of Tokyo)
Image 28Tokyo from the air after the firebombing of the city, 1945 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 29A social hierarchy chart based on old academic theories. Such hierarchical diagrams were removed from Japanese textbooks after various studies in the 1990s revealed that peasants, craftsmen, and merchants were in fact equal and merely social categories. Successive shoguns held the highest or near-highest court ranks, higher than most court nobles. (from History of Tokyo)
Image 30Shibuya (from Special wards of Tokyo)
Image 311960 protests against the United States-Japan Security Treaty (from History of Tokyo)
Image 32Soil liquefaction in Kōtō after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake (from History of Tokyo)
Image 33Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower viewed from Odaiba (from Special wards of Tokyo)
Image 34Tokyo streets at night (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 35A jar from the Yayoi period (300 BC to 300 AD) found in Kugahara, Ōta (from History of Tokyo)
Image 36Taira no Masakado, who challenged the Emperor by becoming the effective ruler of Kanto (from History of Tokyo)
Image 37Tokyo Haneda Airport (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 38Map of operators in Greater Tokyo Area (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 39The Nikkei 225 stock market index from 1970 to 2024 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 40Yukio Mishima giving a speech during his 1970 coup attempt at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force building (from History of Tokyo)
Image 41Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara in 2003 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 42Shinjuku (from Special wards of Tokyo)
Image 43Ōta Dokan, who built the start to Edo Castle (from History of Tokyo)
Image 44This 1858 map shows the yamanote western district (at top) and the shitamachi eastern district (at bottom). Nihonbashi is at center (from History of Tokyo)
Image 45Funeral procession for Hirohito (by then renamed Showa) on 24 February 1989 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 46The Shintomi-za theater, as painted by Utagawa Hiroshige III in 1881 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 47This marker in Nihonbashi is the place from which distances along highways are reckoned. (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 48A scene from the Tokugawa Seiseiroku, showing an aspect of the sankin-kōtai system: the festive attendance day of daimyo at Edo Castle (from History of Tokyo)
Image 49A kawaraban (news broadsheet) depicting the damage of the 1855 earthquake (from History of Tokyo)
Image 50Emperor Meiji, moving from Kyoto to Tokyo after the fall of Edo in 1868 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 51An 1869 picture scroll of the 1772 Great Meiwa Fire (from History of Tokyo)
Image 52Ginza (from Special wards of Tokyo)
Image 53Picture of the Upper Class, a c. 1794–1795 painting by Utamaro. The woman on the left is lower in class than the woman on the right, who wears more colorful clothes (from History of Tokyo)
Image 54An 1809 etched print of the Senso-ji temple, before it was firebombed during World War II and rebuilt (from History of Tokyo)
Image 55Tokugawa Ieyasu, who made Edo the capital of Japan (from History of Tokyo)
Image 56Tokyo-Wan Ferry Shirahama-maru (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 57Toei bus (from Transport in Greater Tokyo)
Image 58Commodore Matthew C. Perry's fleet during his second visit to Tokyo in 1854 (from History of Tokyo)
Image 59Rokumeikan, a club mixing Japanese and European styles (from History of Tokyo)

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that with his self-produced solo ice show Gift, two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu is expected to become the first ice skater to perform at the Tokyo Dome?
... that Makoto Nishimoto tried to run in the 2020 Tokyo gubernatorial election as his nickname "Super Crazy-kun"?
... that in 1994 Kazuyoshi Akiyama conducted the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in the first performance of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron with Japanese musicians?
... that Satoko Kishimoto is the first elected female mayor of Suginami, Tokyo?
... that self-help author Beth Kempton held positions at both the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Tokyo and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London?
... that Izawa Takushi is called the "Quiz King from Tokyo University"?

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Administrative divisions of Tokyo

Western Tokyo				Special wards
Okutama Hinohara Ōme Hinode Akiruno Hachiōji Hamura Mizuho Fussa Akishima	Hino Tama Machida Musashimurayama Tachikawa Kunitachi Fuchū Inagi Higashiyamato Kodaira	Kokubunji Koganei Chōfu Higashimurayama Kiyose Higashikurume Nishitōkyō Musashino Mitaka Komae		Nerima Suginami Setagaya Nakano Itabashi Toshima Shinjuku Shibuya Meguro Shinagawa	Ōta Kita Bunkyō Chiyoda Minato Chūō Adachi Arakawa Taitō Kōtō	Sumida Katsushika Edogawa