The Edo period of Japanese history ran from 1603 to 1868 under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional Daimyo. The era was defined by steady economic growth, rigid social hierarchies, an isolationist foreign policy, growing environmental awareness, and a flourishing of arts and culture. The shogunate was formally established in Edo by Tokugawa Ieyasu on March 24, 1603. The period drew to a close with the Meiji Restoration on May 3, 1868, following the fall of Edo.