Edo period (1603-1868)

The Edo period (1603-1868) was a time in Japan when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled the country from the city of Edo (modern Tokyo). It was characterized by relative peace, stability, and strict social hierarchy, with samurai at the top and merchants, artisans, and farmers below. Japan enforced isolationist policies, limiting foreign contact to preserve its culture. Cultural developments like popular theater and ukiyo-e woodblock prints flourished. The period ended with the shogunate's fall, leading to the Meiji Restoration and modernization of Japan.