Kōtō

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title: "Kōtō" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kōtō", "wards-of-tokyo"] topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kōtō" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Kōtō
official_name	Kōtō City
native_name	江東区
native_name_lang	ja
settlement_type	Special ward
other_name
image_skyline	Great Harumi Bridge.jpg
image_caption	Great Harumi Bridge in Kōtō
image_flag	Flag of Koto, Tokyo.svg
image_seal	Emblem of Koto, Tokyo.svg
seal_type	Emblem
image_map	Koto-ku in Tokyo Prefecture Ja.svg
map_caption	Location of Kōtō in Tokyo
pushpin_map	Japan
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Japan
coordinates
coordinates_footnotes
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Japan
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Kantō
subdivision_type2	Prefecture
subdivision_name2	Tokyo
subdivision_type3	District
subdivision_name3
established_title
extinct_title	Now part of
named_for
seat_type
seat
government_footnotes	tags --
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	(from December 11, 2023)
leader_title1	Vice Mayor
leader_name1
total_type
unit_pref	Metric
area_magnitude
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	42.99
area_note
elevation_footnotes	tags --
elevation_m
population_footnotes	tags --
population_total	543,730
population_as_of	May 1, 2025
population_density_km2	12,648
pop_est_as_of
timezone1	JST
utc_offset1	+09:00
area_code_type
area_code
blank_name_sec1	City office
blank_info_sec1	4-11-28 Toyo, Koto City, Tokyo, Japan
135-8383
website
::

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| name = Kōtō | official_name = Kōtō City | native_name = 江東区 | native_name_lang = ja | settlement_type = Special ward | other_name = | image_skyline = Great Harumi Bridge.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Great Harumi Bridge in Kōtō | image_flag = Flag of Koto, Tokyo.svg | image_seal = Emblem of Koto, Tokyo.svg | seal_type = Emblem | image_map = Koto-ku in Tokyo Prefecture Ja.svg | map_alt = | map_caption = Location of Kōtō in Tokyo | pushpin_map = Japan | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Japan | coordinates = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Japan | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Kantō | subdivision_type2 = Prefecture | subdivision_name2 = Tokyo | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = | established_date = | extinct_title = Now part of | extinct_date = | founder = | named_for = | seat_type = | seat = | government_footnotes = tags -- | leader_party = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = (from December 11, 2023) | leader_title1 = Vice Mayor | leader_name1 = | total_type = | unit_pref = Metric | area_magnitude = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 42.99 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | area_note = | elevation_footnotes = tags -- | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = tags -- | population_total = 543,730 | population_as_of = May 1, 2025 | population_density_km2 = 12,648 | population_est = | pop_est_as_of = | timezone1 = JST | utc_offset1 = +09:00 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | blank_name_sec1 = City office | blank_info_sec1 = 4-11-28 Toyo, Koto City, Tokyo, Japan 135-8383 | website =
| footnotes = | module =

Kōtō is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is known as Kōtō City in English. As of May 1, 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 543,730, and a population density of 12,648 PD/km2. The total area is 42.99 km2.

Kōtō is 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, Ojima.

Etymology

Kōtō means "East [of the] River" in Japanese. The in means "east" and is the same character as the in .

Geography

Kōtō is on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay, sandwiched between the wards of Chūō and Edogawa. To the north, its inland boundary is with the Sumida special ward. Much of the land in northern Kōtō is old reclaimed land, and the elevation is very low (below sea level). The southern part is relatively new, but there are a 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. Kōtō Ward was formed in 1947 by the merger of Fukagawa and Jōtō wards. The area has a history of canal-based commerce during the Edo period and was once a center for lumber storage and distribution.

Districts

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Koto_Tokyo_Map.png" caption="Map of Kōtō and its districts (as of 2015)"] ::

There are 46 districts in Kōtō:

;Fukagawa Area

• Botan
• Eitai
• Etchūjima
• Fukagawa
• Fukuzumi
• Furuishiba
• Fuyuki
• Hirano
• Ishijima
• Kiba
• Kiyosumi
• Miyoshi
• Mōri
• Morishita
• Monzen-nakachō
• Ōgibashi
• Saga
• Sarue
• Sengoku
• Shirakawa
• Shin-Ōhashi
• Sumiyoshi
• Senda
• Takabashi
• Tōyō
• Tokiwa
• Tomioka
• Umibe ;Jōtō Area
• Higashisuna
• Kameido
• Kitasuna
• Minamisuna
• Ōjima ;Waterfront Area
• Aomi
• Ariake
• Edagawa
• Shin-Kiba
• Shinonome
• Shinsuna
• Shiohama
• Shiomi
• Tatsumi
• Toyosu
• Uminomori
• 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-nakacho 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, Monzen-nakachō Station
• Tobu Railway
  • Kameido Line: Kameido Station, Kameido-suijin Station
• Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit
  • Rinkai Line: Shin-kiba Station, Shinonome Station, Kokusai-tenjijō Station, Tokyo Teleport Station
• Yurikamome
  • Yurikamome: Tokyo International Cruise Terminal Station, Telecom Center Station, Aomi Station, Tokyo Big Sight Station, Ariake Station, Ariake-Tennis-no-mori Station, Shijō-mae Station, Shin-toyosu Station, Toyosu Station

Highway

• Shuto Expressway
  • C2 Central Loop (Itabashi JCT – Kasai JCT)
  • No.7 Komatsugawa Route (Ryogoku JCT – Yagochi)
  • No.9 Fukagawa Route (Hakozaki JCT – Tatsumi JCT)
  • B Bayshore Route (Kawasaki-ukishima JCT – Koya)

Air

• Tokyo Heliport, in Shin-Kiba

Economy

Companies with headquarters in Kōtō include Daimaru, Ibex Airlines, Fujikura, and Maruha Nichiro.

The broadcasting center of Wowow is in Kōtō.

Seta Corporation was headquartered in Kōtō.

Government

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/江東区役所.jpg" caption="The main city office for Kōtō City"] ::

Kōtō City's main office is in Tōyō. There are branch offices in Shirakawa, Tomioka, Toyosu, Komatsubashi, Kameido, Ojima, Sunamachi, and Minamisuna.

Notable places

• Toyosu Market, the world's largest wholesale fish market
• teamLab Planets
• Kameido Tenjin Shrine
• Tomioka Hachiman Shrine
• Fukagawa Edo Museum
• Fukagawa Fudo-son
• Kiyosumi Garden
• Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Kiba Park
• Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center)
• Ariake Coliseum, site of Japan Open Tennis Championships, All Japan Tennis Championships
• Ariake Tennis Forest Park, which has Ariake Coliseum and 48 tennis courts
• Suzaki Baseball Field, site of Japanese Baseball League games in 1930s
• Kiba Metropolitan Park
• Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome
• Shin-Kiba 1st Ring
• Tokyo Gate Bridge
• Dream Bridge

Kiba Park

Kiba Park is a spacious urban park in Kōtō, covering approximately 238,711 m2. The park features jogging paths, tennis courts, a barbecue area, playgrounds, and open lawns. It is divided into northern and southern sections connected by the Kiba Park Bridge, a prominent pedestrian overpass. The park also includes the Kiba Park Urban Greening Botanical Garden and hosts seasonal events such as the "Flower and Light Movement" illumination.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT), within Kiba Park, opened in 1995. It focuses on contemporary art from the postwar period to the present, with works by both Japanese and international artists, and houses about 5,400 artworks and 280,000 related materials. It underwent a major renovation and reopened in 2019.

Education

Colleges and universities

• Ariake Junior College of Education and the Arts (Ariake Kyōiku Geijutsu Tanki Dbigaku)
• Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (Tokyo Kaiyo Daigaku, part of the national university system)
• Shibaura Institute of Technology (Shibaura Kougyō Daigaku)
• Shurin College of Foreign Language (Shurin Gaigo Senmon Gakkou, a private 2 year college for language)

Primary and secondary schools

Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the Koto City Board of Education.

Combined junior and senior high schools:

• Ariake Nishi Gakuen

Junior high schools:

• No. 2 Kameido Junior High School
• No. 2 Minamisuna Junior High School
• No. 2 Ojima Junior High School
• No. 2 Sunamachi Junior High School
• No. 3 Kameido Junior High School
• No. 3 Sunamachi Junior High School
• No. 4 Sunamachi Junior High School
• Ariake Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 1 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 2 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 3 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 4 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 5 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 6 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 7 Junior High School
• Fukagawa No. 8 Junior High School
• Kameido Junior High School
• Ojima Junior High School
• Ojima Nishi Junior High School
• Minamisuna Junior High School
• Sunamachi Junior High School
• Tatsumi Junior High School
• Toyo Junior High School

Elementary schools:

• No. 1 Kameido Elementary School
• No. 1 Ojima Elementary School
• No. 2 Kameido Elementary School
• No. 2 Ojima Elementary School
• No. 2 Sunamachi Elementary School
• No. 2 Tatsumi Elementary School
• No. 3 Ojima Elementary School
• No. 3 Sunamachi Elementary School
• No. 4 Ojima Elementary School
• No. 4 Sunamachi Elementary School
• No. 5 Ojima Elementary School
• No. 5 Sunamachi Elementary School
• No. 6 Sunamachi Elementary School
• No. 7 Sunamachi Elementary School
• Ariake Elementary School
• Edagawa Elementary School
• Etchujima Elementary School
• Fukagawa Elementary School
• Heikyu Elementary School
• Higashisuna Elementary School
• Kametaka Elementary School
• Katori Elementary School
• Kazuya Elementary School
• Kitasuna Elementary School
• Meiji Elementary School
• Minamisuna Elementary School
• Mori Elementary School
• Motogaka Elementary School
• Nanyo Elementary School
• Ogibashi Elementary School
• Ojima Nan'o Elementary School
• Onagigawa Elementary School
• Rinkai Elementary School
• Sengen Tatekawa Elementary School
• Sennan Elementary School
• Shinonome Elementary School
• Suijin Elementary School
• Sunamachi Elementary School
• Tatsumi Elementary School
• Tosen Elementary School
• Toyo Elementary School
• Toyosu Elementary School
• Toyosu Kita Elementary School
• Toyosu Nishi Elementary School
• Yanagawa Elementary School

Private schools:

International schools

International schools are independently owned and operated.

• K. International School Tokyo
• India International School in Japan
• Tokyo Bay International School
• Tokyo Second Korean Elementary School – North Korean school

International relations

On April 20, 1989, Kōtō became a sister city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Notable people from Kōtō

• Yuto Horigome, Japanese skateboarder, 2020 Olympic gold medalist
• Shōta Sometani, Japanese actor
• Takaaki Yamazaki, Japanese politician and the former mayor of Kōtō
• Kazuto Sakata, Japanese former professional motorcycle racer and two-time F.I.M. 125cc world champion
• Anne Nakamura, Japanese model, and actress
• Daisuke Gōri, Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator
• Genki Sudo, Japanese politician, former entertainer and kickboxer
• Ben Kimura, Japanese politician
• Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler, died in Kōtō
• Hiroshi Yamamoto, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 4-dan
• Tomomi Kahara, Japanese pop singer
• Akihito Hirose, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan
• Hiromu Watanabe, Japanese professional shogi player ranked 5-dan
• Yasuko Kobayashi, Japanese anime and drama screenwriter
• Yōhei Kajiyama, Japanese former football player
• Tetsuo Kurata, Japanese television, stage, film actor and restauranteur (Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Black RX)
• Tomokazu Seki, Japanese actor, voice actor and singer featured in Fushigi Yūgi, Weiss Kruez, You're Under Arrest, Initial D, Mobile Suite Gundam Seed, Mobile Suite Gundam Seed DESTINY
• Ruki Shiroiwa, member of Japanese boy band JO1

References

References

1. link. (2023-11-01)
2. "Population by District".
3. link. (2020-04-09)
4. link
5. "Corporate Profile".
6. "Corporate Profile".
7. "Corporate Data".
8. "Corporate Info".
9. "Corporation Data".
10. "Koto City/English/Koto City Office Guide".
11. "Kiba Park". Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau.
12. "Flower and Light Movement Kiba Park Botanical Illumination in Touch with Trees".
13. "MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO".
14. link. Koto City
15. link. Koto City
16. link. Koto City
17. link
18. "Sister & Friendship Cities".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::