Lantern slide of the Foreign settlement of Kob?. When Kobe port was opened in 1868 after two centuries of isolation policy by the country, a foreign settlement area was established in an isolated area 3 kilometers from the city's center. The city layout planned by English civil engineer W. Hart broke down the sandy farmland stretching approximately 500 meters north-south and 700 meters east-west into a total of 126 blocks which were auctioned off to prospective Western residents . The foreign settlement was a startling example of western urban planning, but when it was returned to the Japanese Government in 1899 with the end of extra-territoriality, the area became subject to the will of the Japanese people. The area, however, sustained and served as an active commercial center of Kobe until World War II when most buildings in the area were destroyed by bombing raids.. Part of Box 158 Japan, part of Boswell Collection, slide no.21