How many years did Japan’s Edo period last, from 1603 to 1868?

Japan’s Edo period lasted 265 years, from 1603 to 1868.

The period is conventionally dated from 1603, when Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of shogun and established the Tokugawa shogunate. It ended in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, when political authority was returned to the imperial government and the shogunate collapsed.

The Edo period was also called the Tokugawa period. It brought long internal peace after centuries of civil war, although Japan was not completely isolated from the outside world. Dutch, Chinese, Korean, and Ryukyuan connections continued under carefully regulated policies.

The figure of 265 years comes from subtracting 1603 from 1868. Historians sometimes use slightly different boundaries for the transition because the political change unfolded across several years. Even so, 1603–1868 is the standard textbook range for the Edo period.