On February 4th 1868, one month after the opening of Kobe to the world, samurai from the Bizen domain clashed with foreign troops in Kobe, though without fatalities. Imperial envoy Michitomi Higashikuze met with foreign representatives at the Unjo-syo, which later changed to Kobe Custom House, where he announced the regime change in the Japanese government and the new government's Peace and Amity policy. He also apologized for the incident and promised that those responsible would be punished. The Bizen samurai leader took responsibility for the incident by committing ritual suicide. This is the so-called Kobe Incident. It is almost unknown that this was the first act of diplomacy by the Meiji restoration government and that a crisis was averted by a samurai's death.