Amazing images of Tokyo before it was a city

Before Tokyo matured into the gleaming, dense city it is today, it was a small fishing village called Edo.

Now home to over 13 million people, the Japanese capital has changed dramatically since its beginnings in the 12th century.

These maps, woodcuts, and old-time photographs show the journey of Tokyo from small village to today.

SEE ALSO: Amazing images of New York City before it was a city

Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means "estuary." In the late 12th century, Edo was fortified by the Edo clan, which built a castle and military capital (pictured below). Some of the estate's moats and walls still survive to this day.

Source: National Geographic and Open Buildings

By the 1630s, Edo had a population of 150,000.

Source: Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology

And over the next century, the small fishing village grew into the largest metropolis in the world, with a million residents by 1721.

Source: Urban Networks in Ch'ing China and Tokugawa Japan

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