How would you interpret this phrase “climbed back”? Still, it isn’t the first time Tokyo has been knocked off its perch and climbed back. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the city, then known as Edo, surpassed 1 million in the late 18th century to become the world’s largest city, according to the 2006 book “Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities,” edited by David Gordon. After the Meiji restoration in 1868, the Tokugawa officials and supporters left Edo and the population slumped, allowing London to overtake it. How would you interpret this phrase “climbed back”? Does it mean to stand up after have been knocked off?