 The Tone was diverted in 1654 by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the city of Edo from flooding.The Edo was used to connect the north and east of the Kanto Region to the capital at Edo, specifically to transport large amounts of cargo from Chōshi and other cities on the Pacific Ocean coast inland to the capital.Before the industrialization of the Tokyo region the river was also used to cultivate lotus roots.