is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 488,632, and a population density of 12,170 persons per km². The total area is approximately 40.16 km². Kōtō is located east of the Tokyo metropolitan center, bounded by the Sumida River to the west and the Arakawa River to the east. Its major districts include Kameido, Kiba, Kiyosumi, Monzen-nakachō, Shirakawa, and Toyosu. The waterfront area of Ariake is in Kōtō, as is part of Odaiba. Etymology "Kōtō" (江東) means "East [of the] River" in Japanese. The tō (東) in Kōtō means "East" and is the same character as the Tō in Tokyo (東京). Geography Kōtō occupies a position on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay sandwiched between the wards of Chūō and Edogawa. Its inland boundary is with Sumida. Much of the land is reclaimed, The northern part is old reclaimed land, and the elevation is very low（below sea level. The southern part is relatively new, but there are few old temples or shrines. Noteworthy places in Kōtō include: In the former ward of Fukagawa: Kiba, Fukagawa, Edagawa; In the former ward of Jōtō: Kameido, Ōjima, Sunamachi; On recently reclaimed land: Ariake, Yumenoshima, Tokyo Rinkai Fukutoshin. History The western part of the ward was formerly part of Fukagawa Ward of Tokyo City. It suffered severe damage in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, and was heavily bombed during World War II. The special ward was founded on March 15, 1947, by the merger of the wards of Fukagawa and Jōtō. Districts There are 45 districts in Koto: Fukagawa Area Aomi Ariake Botan Eitai Edagawa Echujima Fukagawa Fukuzumi Furuishiba Fuyuki Hirano Ishijima Kiba Kiyosumi Miyoshi Mori Morishita Monzennakacho Ogibashi Saga Sarue Sengoku Shiohama Shiomi Shinonome Shirakawa Shinoohashi Sumiyoshi Senda Takabashi Tatsumi Toyo Tokiwa Tomioka Toyosu Umibe Jōtō Area Higashisuna Kameido Kitasuna Minamisuna Ojima Shinsuna Shin-Kiba Wakasu Yumenoshima Transportation Rail JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line: Kameido Station Keiyō Line: Etchūjima Station, Shiomi Station, Shin-kiba Station JR Freight Etchūjima Branch Line: Etchūjima Freight Terminal Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line: Monzen-nakachō Station, Kiba Station, Tōyōchō Station, Minami-sunamachi Station Yūrakuchō Line: Toyosu Station, Tatsumi Station, Shin-kiba Station Hanzōmon Line: Sumiyoshi Station, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation Toei Shinjuku Line: Morishita Station, Sumiyoshi Station, Nishi-Ōjima Station, Ōjima Station, Higashi-Ōjima Station Toei Ōedo Line: Morishita Station, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station,