With Emperor Meiji's accession to the throne, as part of their effort to build a national government centered around the emperor, the new government renamed Edo to Tokyo where the emperor visited to proclaim that city to be the new political center of Japan (See Tokyo Tento (transfer of the national capital to Tokyo)).
明治天皇が即位、新政府は天皇を中心とした新しい国家体制を築くことを目指し、新たに江戸を東京と改め、天皇が東京に行幸してここを日本の新しい政治の中心にすえた（東京奠都を参照）。