is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is known as Taitō City. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 186,276, and a population density of 18,420 persons per km2. The total area is . This makes Taito ward the smallest of Tokyo's wards in area, and third-smallest in population. History The ward was founded on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the old Asakusa and Shitaya wards when Tokyo City was transformed into Tokyo Metropolis. During the Edo period, the Yoshiwara licensed quarter was in what is now Taitō. Taitō shares the same Chinese characters, "台東" with Taitung, a city in Taiwan. Geography Situated in the northeastern portion of the wards area of Tokyo, Taitō is surrounded by five other special wards: Chiyoda, Bunkyō, Arakawa, Sumida and Chūō. Districts and neighborhoods Asakusa Area Asakusa Asakusabashi Hanakawado Hashiba Higashi-Asakusa (East Asakusa) Imado Kaminarimon Kiyokawa Kojima Komagata Kotobuki Kuramae Matsugaya Misuji Motoasakusa Nihonzutsumi (Japan dike) Nishi-Asakusa (West Asakusa) Torigoe Yanagibashi Shitaya Area Akihabara Higashi-Ueno (East Ueno) Ikenohata Iriya Kita-Ueno (North Ueno) Minowa Ryusen Senzoku Shitaya Taito Ueno Ueno-koen (Ueno Park) Uenosakuragi Yanaka Landmarks Taitō is famous for its typical Shitamachi districts. Temples and shrines Sensō-ji and Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) Asakusa Shrine Akiba Shrine Kan'ei-ji Kishibojin Ueno Tōshō-gū Zenshō-an Parks Asakusa Park Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden Sumida Park Ueno Park Yanaka Park Museums and zoos Amuse Museum Asakura Sculpture Hall Daimyo Clock Museum National Museum of Western Art National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Tokyo National Museum Ueno no Mori Museum Ueno Zoo Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall Entertainment Suzumoto Engeijo (Suzumoto Vaudeville Hall) Asakusa Vaudeville Hall Education Colleges and universities Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music Ueno Gakuen University Primary and secondary schools Prefectural public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education. Ueno Shinobugaoka High School Taito Commercial High School Taito Chuyakan High School Private schools: The school district of the metropolis also operates one metropolitan junior high school: The Taito City Board of Education (台東区教育委員会) operates municipal elementary and junior high schools. Municipal junior high schools: Asakusa Junior High School (浅草中学校) Hakuyo Junior High School (柏葉中学校) Komagata Junior High School (駒形中学校) Okachimachi Taito Junior High School (御徒町台東中学校) Sakurabashi Junior High School (台東区立桜橋中学校) Shinobugaoka Junior High School (忍岡中学校) Ueno Junior High School (上野中学校) Municipal elementary schools: Asakusa Elementary School (浅草小学校) Fuji Elementary School