 Although Japan was placed under isolation by the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, Hyogo Port remained an important route for domestic trade.Given its importance, Hyogo Port was under the direct administration of the Shogunate via the Osaka machi-bugyō.In 1868, at the end of the Edo period, Hyogo port was one of the first to be opened to foreign vessels, ending Japan's 250-year long isolation.