After the capitulation of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, including the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were required to vacate the premises of the Edo Castle.
Leaving the Kyoto Imperial Palace on 26 November 1868, the Emperor arrived at the Edo Castle, made it to his new residence and renamed it to Tōkei Castle (東京城, Tōkei-jō).
At this time, Tōkyō had also been called Tōkei.
He left for Kyōto again, and after coming back on 9 May 1869, it was renamed to Imperial Castle (皇城, Kōjō).

Previous fires had destroyed the Honmaru area containing the old donjon (which itself burned in the 1657 Meireki fire).
On the night of 5 May 1873, a fire consumed the Nishinomaru Palace (formerly the shōgun's residence), and the new imperial Palace Castle (宮城, Kyūjō) was constructed on the site in 1888.

A non-profit "Rebuilding Edo-jo Association" (NPO法人 江戸城再建) was founded in 2004 with the aim of a historically correct reconstruction of at least the main donjon.
In March 2013, Naotaka Kotake, head of the group, said that "the capital city needs a symbolic building", and that the group planned to collect donations and signatures on a petition in support of rebuilding the tower.
A reconstruction blueprint had been made based on old documents.
The Imperial Household Agency at the time had not indicated whether it would support the project.
After the capitulation of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, including the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were required to vacate the premises of the Edo Castle. Leaving the Kyoto Imperial Palace on 26 November 1868, the Emperor arrived at the Edo Castle, made it to his new residence and renamed it to Tōkei Castle (東京城, Tōkei-jō). At this time, Tōkyō had also been called Tōkei. He left for Kyōto again, and after coming back on 9 May 1869, it was renamed to Imperial Castle (皇城, Kōjō).
Previous fires had destroyed the Honmaru area containing the old donjon (which itself burned in the 1657 Meireki fire). On the night of 5 May 1873, a fire consumed the Nishinomaru Palace (formerly the shōgun's residence), and the new imperial Palace Castle (宮城, Kyūjō) was constructed on the site in 1888.
A non-profit "Rebuilding Edo-jo Association" (NPO法人 江戸城再建) was founded in 2004 with the aim of a historically correct reconstruction of at least the main donjon. In March 2013, Naotaka Kotake, head of the group, said that "the capital city needs a symbolic building", and that the group planned to collect donations and signatures on a petition in support of rebuilding the tower. A reconstruction blueprint had been made based on old documents. The Imperial Household Agency at the time had not indicated whether it would support the project.
Tokyo Imperial Palace