Edo Castle served as the main residence and administrative center of the Tokugawa shoguns.
The castle was built on the site of a former fortification and was greatly expanded after Tokugawa Ieyasu established his government in Edo. It became the political heart of the Tokugawa shogunate, with extensive defensive walls, moats, gates, residences, gardens, and administrative buildings.
The complex was exceptionally large, although much of it was destroyed by fires, including the devastating fire of 1657. The surviving palace grounds later became part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Edo Castle should not be confused with Osaka Castle, which was associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later rebuilt under Tokugawa authority, or Himeji Castle, a major surviving feudal castle in western Japan. Its importance came not only from its fortifications but also from its role as the seat from which the shogunate managed the daimyo and the country’s institutions.