江戸時代 ・ えどじだい ・ Edo jidai
A long period in Japanese history in which Edo (now Tokyo) became the "center" of Japan. It is a period of relative peace and economic growth and as a result an expansion of art and culture. For most of the Edo period, Japan followed an isolationist foreign policy and contacts with the rest of the world were limited.
Also called Tokugawa period (德川時代) after the name of ruling family (clan) of the time.
Preceded by the Sengoku period (戦国時代, Age of Warring States), a period of unrest, and followed by the Meiji era (明治), a period of change and modernization (westernization).