Tokyo
/ˈtoʊ.ki.oʊ/noun
The capital of Japan and one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas.
Did you know?Tokyo was renamed from Edo in 1868 after the imperial court moved there, so the name itself records a political and symbolic transfer of power.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Japanese
Japanese
higashi
“east”
Ancient Japanese
Japanese
miyako
“capital; imperial city”
Classical Japanese
Japanese
Tō-kyō
“eastern capital”
1868
Japanese
Tōkyō
“official name adopted for the former Edo as Japan’s imperial capital”
Modern English
English
Tokyo
“the capital city of Japan”