is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Meguro City. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. Meguro is predominantly residential in character, but is also home to light industry, corporate head offices, the Komaba campus of University of Tokyo as well as fifteen foreign embassies and consulates. Residential neighborhoods include, Jiyugaoka, Kakinokizaka, and Nakameguro. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 277,171 and a population density of 18,890 persons per km2. The total area is 14.67 km2. Meguro is also used to refer to the area around Meguro Station, which is not located in Meguro ward, but in neighboring Shinagawa's Kamiōsaki district. History The Higashiyama shell mound in the north of the ward contains remains from the paleolithic, Jōmon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods. The area now known as Meguro was formerly two towns, Meguro proper and Hibusuma, all parts of the former Ebara District of Musashi Province. The two were merged into a Meguro ward for Tokyo City in 1932 and since then the ward has remained with no alterations to its territory. The name "Meguro", meaning "black eyes", derives from the Meguro Fudō (Black-eyed Fudō-myōō) of Ryūsenji. The Meguro Fudō was one of five Fudō-myōō statues placed at strategic points on the outskirts of Edo in the early seventeenth century by the abbot Tenkai, an advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu, to provide protection for the new capital of the Tokugawa shogunate. Each statue had eyes of a different color. (Mejiro, a district in Toshima ward, is named for the white-eyed Fudō-myōō). Geography Four other special wards surround Meguro. They are Shibuya (to the northeast), Setagaya (to the west), Ōta (to the south), and Shinagawa (to the southeast). Districts and neighborhoods Hibusuma Area Chūōchō Haramachi Higashigaoka Himonya Jiyūgaoka Kakinokizaka Megurohonchō Midorigaoka Minami Nakane Ōokayama Senzoku Tairamachi Takaban Yakumo Hirachō Meguro Area Aobadai Gohongi Higashiyama Kamimeguro Komaba Meguro Mita Nakachō Nakameguro Ōhashi Shimomeguro Yūtenji Sanda Politics and government Meguro ward government is led by the city assembly with 36 elected members with current terms from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2015. The chairman of the council is Yoshiaki Ito. The mayor is Eiji Aoki, an independent. His term lasts until April 24, 2016. Elections 2007 Meguro local election 2008 Meguro mayoral election Sightseeing and local landmarks Green spaces Meguro River Komaba Park, Komaba Komabano Park, Komaba Komazawa