Where the name Meguro comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
One theory says Meguro was named after the horses that once grazed on the surrounding land. In this explanation, me meant horse and kuro referred to a boundary path between fields or pastures. The old Meguro ward history regarded this interpretation as plausible. Nearby names such as Komaba, Komazawa, Kamiuma, and Shimouma still contain references to horses.
Another theory points to the landscape itself. According to this interpretation, me refers to a hollow or valley and kuro to a ridge. Leave Meguro Station by the west exit and descend the steep Gyōnin-zaka slope. The ground falls dramatically toward the Meguro River, with another hillside rising beyond it. This geography makes the valley theory easy to imagine. A third explanation connects the name with Meguro Fudō Temple, although none of these origins has been definitively established.
The name is much older than modern Tokyo. The medieval chronicle Azuma Kagami records a warrior named Meguro Yagorō accompanying Minamoto no Yoritomo on his journey to Kyoto in November 1190. As you walk down the slope toward the river, you are crossing a landscape whose name has survived for more than eight centuries.
→ Take the west exit of Meguro Station and follow Gyōnin-zaka downhill to Taiko Bridge over the Meguro River. Notice how sharply the land drops, then look toward the hills on the opposite bank. This short walk makes the geographical theory behind the name particularly vivid.
Sources (in Japanese): 目黒区「目黒の地名 目黒」, 目黒区提供・目黒デジタル百科事典「目黒のいわれ」
The steep street descending from Meguro Station's west exit was once a major route for pilgrims heading toward Meguro Fudō Temple. Before the wider Gonnosuke-zaka road was opened, Gyōnin-zaka connected central Edo with the Meguro area and the road toward Futako. Partway down stands Daienji Temple. According to local tradition, an ascetic associated with Mount Yudono established a hall dedicated to Dainichi Nyorai here during the Kan'ei era. The slope's name is linked to the religious practitioners who lived nearby.
At the foot of the hill lies the Meguro River. In 1769, a remarkable arched stone bridge was constructed across it. Known as Taiko Bridge because its shape resembled a drum, it measured approximately 15.3 meters long and 3.6 meters wide. Hiroshige included the bridge in his famous One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. The original stone structure collapsed during heavy rain in 1920, and the present bridge dates from river improvement works in 1991.
The hilltop was once called Sunset Hill, celebrated for its view of Mount Fuji. Along the lower riverbank, smaller streams including the Rakanji River joined the Meguro River. Those tributaries now run underground. Following the path from the temple down to the river reveals a Meguro shaped by pilgrimage, steep terrain, and water long before its modern railway station became a major transport hub.
→ Stop at Daienji Temple on Gyōnin-zaka to see its stone Buddhist figures. Continue downhill to Taiko Bridge, which still carries the historic name. Walk along the Meguro River toward the former mouth of the now-covered Rakanji River to imagine the waterways that once crossed the neighborhood.
Sources (in Japanese): 目黒区「文化財めぐり 目黒駅周辺コース」, 目黒区「目黒の坂 行人坂」
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We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).