Assassination attempt on Tsarevich Nicholas in Japan. Wounding of Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich in Japan

Travel of Nicholas II to Japan

At the beginning of 1890, Alexander III decided to send his son on a trip to the countries of Asia, and the prince returned back through Siberia. During the journey, Nikolai was supposed to receive a large amount of information that could be useful to him later. The heir traveled on the newest cruiser “Memory of Azov”. The cruiser was named after the 74-gun sailing battleship Azov, the first in the Russian fleet to be awarded the St. George's Flag for valor in the Battle of Navarino on October 8, 1827.

Despite the rather powerful armament (two 203/35 mm and thirteen 152/35 mm cannons), in terms of external decorations and interior decoration, “Memory of Azov” could give odds to the richest yacht. On the bow of the ship there was the Order of St. George, ribbons with bows, an imperial crown, a laurel wreath and palm branches. Valuable wood species (mahogany, walnut and teak) were widely used in the decoration and equipment of officer premises. A large space on the ship was occupied by special cabins for the heir to the throne and his retinue. The finishing of these cabins alone cost the treasury more than 78 thousand rubles. Special awnings were installed on the quarterdeck, poop, waist and all bridges to protect from sun and rain. Along the way, in England, additional electric fans were purchased. They also purchased 700 electric lamps and installed additional lighting on the upper deck.

The conversion of the cruiser into the yacht caused an overload of 800 tons. Therefore, two 152-mm cannons, part of the ammunition and other equipment had to be removed from it. All this was loaded onto a special ship sent in advance to Vladivostok. However, the removal of guns from ships when they interfered with the fun of members of the imperial family was the norm in the Russian fleet. Here, for example, is the report of the Naval Technical Committee for 1874. Vice Admiral Kazakevich addressed the committee with a request to remove the stern 152-mm gun from the frigate steamer Rurik, “since when sailing with His Highness the stern is the only free place for dinners given by His Highness.” The Grand Duke, and part-time Admiral General Konstantin Nikolaevich, was a great liberal and a drinker. Needless to say, the gun was immediately removed...

So, the cruiser “Memory of Azov” became a beautiful toy. For the first time in the Russian fleet, triple expansion steam engines were installed on the cruiser, which made it possible to give a speed of up to 17 knots, however, sailing weapons were also retained. The three-masted cruiser was very beautiful under sail, but in terms of speed and maneuverability it was much inferior to purely sailing ships. At the same time, the masts, rigging, sails and other equipment had a large weight and dimensions, which significantly affected the combat effectiveness of the cruiser. But, alas, at that time not only cruisers, but even destroyers carried sails in the Russian fleet. We abandoned sails only in 1895.

His brother George also went on the trip with the Tsarevich. The general of His Majesty's retinue, Baryatinsky, was in charge of everything. Nikolai's company was to be composed of young guards officers, princes Obolensky and Kochubey, and life hussar Volkov. Prince Ukhtomsky was included in the retinue as a chronicler. Later he will publish a book describing the heir’s journey. Alas, it was only a parody chronicle of the journey, which, moreover, was strictly censored by Nicholas II himself.

Nikolai and his retinue left Gatchina on October 23, 1890 and traveled by rail through Vienna to Trieste. Alexander III decided not to torment his son with a trip to the northern seas. And indeed, on the way from Plymouth to Malta, the cruiser withstood a strong storm, which washed away all the expensive nasal jewelry.

On October 26, Nicholas and his retinue boarded a cruiser in Trieste and went to Piraeus to visit the Greek King George I and his wife Olga. By the way, Queen Olga Konstantinovna (1851–1926) was the niece of Emperor Alexander II. In Piraeus, Nicholas's cousin, the Greek Prince George, joined the travelers. On November 7, “Memory of Azov” left Piraeus and three days later arrived in Port Said. Then the cruiser reached Ismailia via the Suez Canal. There, Nicholas was greeted by the Khedive (ruler) of Egypt, Hussein. The prince spent three weeks in Cairo and traveling along the Nile.

I think there is no need to list the sights that the prince visited, meetings, dinners, etc. This is all perfectly described by Ukhtomsky. But the more cheerful side of the journey completely dropped out of the “lives of the Tallest Travelers.” Here, for example, is how Nikolai described his visit to the Russian consul in Luxor. The consul hired oriental dancers. Nikolai and company got them drunk, and “They took off their clothes and did everything in the Eva costume. It’s been a long time since we laughed so hard at the sight of these dark bodies that attacked Puli [brother George]. One finally stuck to him, so we only freed him from it with sticks.”.

From Ismailia, “Memory of Azov” proceeded to Aden, and from there to Bombay. In India, Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich was diagnosed with consumption (tuberculosis). His father ordered him to urgently return to Russia on the cruiser Admiral Kornilov.

In February 1891, when Nicholas was hunting in Ceylon, the yacht Tamara, which belonged to Nicholas’s second cousin, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, entered the port of Colombo. By the way, don’t let the word “yacht” mislead the reader. It was a fairly large (displacement of 1000 tons) seaworthy vessel with a crew of 80 people. Nikolai was glad to see Alexander and Sergei Mikhailovich. The Grand Dukes enjoyed hunting in the jungles of the island. But soon a telegram arrived in Colombo about the death of the Mikhailovich mother. The brothers left the Tamara and set off for Russia on a high-speed English steamer.

After India, Nikolai visited Singapore, the island of Java, Siam (present-day Thailand), Saigon (Vietnam was then a French colony), Hong Kong, Hankow and Shanghai. Finally, on April 15, 1891, “Memory of Azov” entered the Nagasaki roadstead.

The Japanese authorities greeted the heir to the Russian throne with pomp. However, on April 29, in the small town of Otsu, an attempt was made on Nikolai. One rickshaw was driving Nikolai along the street, and two others were running along the side, helping the driver. Behind the heir was a carriage with Prince George, and the third, also in a rickshaw, was the Japanese Prince Arisugawa. The street was only eight paces wide. The cortege stretched out, numerous Japanese police officers pressed against the walls of the houses. And then policeman Tsuda Satso rushed to the heir. Afterwards Nikolai will write to his mother: “We had not gone two hundred steps when suddenly a Japanese policeman rushes into the middle of the street and, holding a saber with both hands, hits me on the head from behind! I shouted to him in Russian: what do you want? And made a jump over my jeep rickshaw. Turning around, I saw that he was running at me with his saber raised again, I rushed down the street as fast as I could, pressing down the wound on my head with my hand.”.

Everything happened so quickly that most of the escorts and police were dumbfounded. The Greek prince reacted fastest. He knocked Satso down with one blow of his fist. The saber fell from the attacker's hands; the rickshaw driver carrying the heir grabbed it and tried to kill Satso. But then the barely alive terrorist was captured by the police. Later investigation revealed that the samurai Tsuda Satso was an extreme nationalist. Whether he was mentally ill, as Japanese officials claimed, is debatable.

A bowler hat made of hard fabric saved Nikolai’s life. The wounded heir was sent to the nearest shop, where his wound was washed and two stitches were placed.

There was no danger to the life of the prince. Japan did not want to quarrel with Russia then. The Japanese emperor took an unprecedented step. He personally visited the “Memory of Azov”. Almost the entire deck of the cruiser was littered with valuable gifts. But Alexander III did not come up with anything smarter than sending a telegram to the commander of the cruiser: “Postpone further travel. Go to Vladivostok immediately.”

The Japanese were undoubtedly offended. But this episode did not have much significance in Russian-Japanese relations. It is a mistaken belief among many historians that the attack at Otsu made Nicholas hate Japan. Alas, until 1905 Nicholas judged Japan by bowing and smiling officials and geishas ready for anything. Nikolai deeply despised the Japanese, for him they were some kind of subhumans, and Nikolai never called the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun anything other than “Japs” and “macaques”. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Russian generals and admirals thought so too.

On May 4, 1891, Nikolai arrived in Vladivostok. There he happened to be present at the laying of the monument to the pioneer of the Amur, Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy, as well as dry dock, etc. In Vladivostok, Nicholas received an imperial rescript: “Having now ordered to begin the construction of a continuous railway through Siberia, which will connect the abundant gifts of nature of the Siberian region with a network of internal rail communications, I instruct you to declare such My will upon your entry again onto Russian soil, after viewing the foreign countries of the East.”.

Nikolai personally laid the foundation stone for the Ussuri section of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Tsarevich dashingly rolled a wheelbarrow filled with earth and threw it into a cliff.

On his way home, Nikolai made a long journey through Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Nerchinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Tobolsk, Surgut, Omsk, Orenburg, Moscow and arrived in St. Petersburg on August 4, 1891.

The assassination attempt on Otsu was traditionally marked by the ringing of bells throughout Russia and prayers for the miraculous salvation of the crown prince. Apollo Mikhailov wrote sublime verses on this occasion:

A royal youth, twice saved!

Revealed to twice-touched Rus'

God's Providence shield over You!

The thunderous news rushed by like a whirlwind,

Raising the hidden flame in hearts

In the general impulse to pray, the saint.

With this prayer throughout the Russian land,

With all our hearts You are deeply assimilated...

Go on your way, cheerful and calm,

Pure before God and bright in soul.

Liberal Russia reacted to the incident in Otsu with humor. All over Russia there were poems composed by Senator Onu, who, by the way, accompanied Nicholas on his journey:

Incident in Otsu

Give some sense to the king and queen!

Is it sweet for mother and father,

If the police beat your son?

And Tsarevich Nikolai,

When you have to reign,

Look, don't forget

Why the police are fighting!

By saying “twice saved,” Apollo Mikhailov meant the crash of the royal train on October 17, 1888 in Borki. The cause of the disaster was two of our traditional troubles - fools and roads. “Over the hill” they laid heavy rails of 28–30 or more pounds per linear foot, while we installed light ones (22–24 pounds). In Europe there was crushed stone ballast, but here we have sand ballast. Their sleepers are metal, but ours are wooden, and we were too lazy to tar them. As a result, the large and heavy royal train of fifteen cars had to be transported not by one, but by two steam locomotives, and not passenger ones, as in ordinary passenger trains, but freight locomotives, not designed to travel at high speed. But the king loved driving fast. The freight locomotives swung at high speed and knocked out the rail, causing the train to go downhill. It was only by miracle that all members of the imperial family survived.

00:28 — REGNUM At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Japan played a significant role in the foreign policy life of Russia. And this is connected not only with the Russian-Japanese War. In 1891, the heir to the Russian throne, the crown prince and the future emperor, visited the Land of the Rising Sun. Nicholas II.

This was the first visit of such a high-ranking person to Japan. Never before had the country been visited by the heirs of European imperial houses. The Japanese considered this event to be of utmost importance and intended it to be a demonstration of friendship between the two peoples. However, the visit was overshadowed by an incident that could have become tragic and turned into a serious diplomatic conflict, or even war.

However, everything started out cloudless. April 15 (27), 1891 Nicholas, accompanied by the Greek prince George arrived in the Japanese city of Nagasaki. By this time, they had already been traveling for six months and visited Egypt, India, China and other countries. It must be said that such trips were traditional for members of the imperial house, however Alexander III decided to send his son not to Europe, as was customary, but to Asian countries.

After Nagasaki, Nicholas visited Kobe, from where he reached Kyoto, where he met with a delegation headed by the prince Arisugawa Takehito. It was assumed that the crown prince would visit various regions of Japan and meet with the emperor in Tokyo Meiji.

As already mentioned, the Japanese government paid great attention to Nicholas’s visit, counting on improving Russian-Japanese relations. The Tsarevich was greeted with honors and presented with many gifts; everywhere the delegation was greeted by Japanese waving flags. Nikolai, in turn, showed interest in Japanese traditional crafts and even got himself a tattoo on his arm with the image of a dragon.

April 29 (May 11) delegation, which included Nicholas, George and Prince Arisugawa, went to the city of Otsu, located near Kyoto. Here they visited the Mii-dera Temple, took a boat trip on Lake Biwa, and then went to the governor's house.

Traffic in Otsu was carried out by rickshaws, rather than horse-drawn carriages, which simply could not navigate the narrow streets of the city. The procession was guarded by police stationed throughout the city along the route.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, when the delegation was heading to Kyoto, suddenly one of the policemen Tsuda Sanzo, rushed to Nikolai and managed to strike him twice with a saber. The blows turned out to be glancing, and Nikolai was able to jump out of the stroller and run away.

The first person to try to stop the criminal was Prince George, who was riding in a carriage behind Nicholas. He managed to hit the attacker with a bamboo cane, after which Nikolai and Georg's rickshaw pullers rushed to the rescue, knocking Sanzo to the ground and knocking the weapon out of his hands. The entire incident occurred within 15-20 seconds, after which the police captured the attacker.

After the attack, Nikolai was bandaged. According to the medical report, he was diagnosed with several head wounds, and during the treatment of one of the wounds, a bone fragment about two centimeters long was removed.

According to the memoirs of Prince Ukhtomsky, who accompanied Nicholas on the trip, the Tsarevich immediately after the attack said:“It’s okay, as long as the Japanese don’t think that this incident could in any way change my feelings towards them and my gratitude for their hospitality.”

Nicholas himself wrote about this incident in his diary:

“We left in rickshaws and turned left into a narrow street with crowds on both sides. At this time I received a strong blow to the right side of my head, above my ear. I turned around and saw the disgusting face of a policeman, who swung a saber at me for the second time in both hands. I just shouted: “What, what do you want?”... And jumped out over the rickshaw onto the pavement. Seeing that the freak was heading towards me and no one was stopping him, I rushed to run down the street, holding the blood that spurted out of the wound with my hand.”

After the incident, the Japanese authorities, fearing a war between the two countries, sent government members and doctors to Nikolai. Emperor Meiji and his wife Haruko sent letters to Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna. The day after the incident, entertainment venues, the Kabuki theater in Tokyo, the stock exchange, schools and other institutions were closed as a sign of respect.

In addition, Meiji came to Nikolai from Tokyo, who expressed joy that the wound was not dangerous and called the incident the “greatest sadness” of his life. The Japanese emperor assured the crown prince of the speedy punishment of the attacker and invited him to visit other picturesque places in Japan. Nikolai, in turn, stated that the issue of his further stay in Japan would be considered in Russia. Alexander III decided to complete the journey of the Tsarevich.

On the same day, Nikolai was taken to the ship “Memory of Azov”, on which he arrived in Japan. On May 6 (18), he celebrated his birthday in the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese sent three ships with a variety of offerings - works of art, food and other gifts.

However, less than 15 years later, everything changed. Russia and Japan entered into a war in which Russia lost. Nicholas II encountered the Japanese for the second time in his life, but this time no one thought to apologize to him.

In 1891, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, who would later soon become Emperor Nicholas II, made the traditional journey for future European monarchs after receiving their education. He was supposed to participate in the laying ceremony in Vladivostok for the eastern section of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Before Japan, he visited Greece, where he was joined by Prince George of Greece, as well as Singapore, Java, Saigon, Bangkok and China. Although Japan considered Russia its main rival in the Far East, Japanese princes received a very warm welcome in Russia. Now the time has come to repay the debt of courtesy towards the Russian Tsarevich. It is interesting that members of European monarchical houses of such high rank have not yet visited this country. This was flattering to the Japanese. In addition, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich arrived at the invitation of the Japanese Emperor Meiji. However, at the same time, many Japanese were afraid of Russia. They took into account that Tsarevich Nicholas abandoned the previous tradition of the Royal House - traveling around his native country and went abroad. And not to the West, but to the East... Was this not a sign of Russian expansionist sentiments and plans in Asia? Tsarevich Nicholas expected to stay in Japan for about a month. The main Japanese press wrote that Russia, despite all its desires, is so weak in the Far East that it is simply not able to implement expansion. On April 27, Tsarevich Nicholas arrived on the frigate “Memory of Azov” in Nagasaki. He then went to Kagoshima, which was perceived as a conservative stronghold. This city has never been included in the program for foreign visitors. Rumors spread that the Russians had allegedly brought with them Saigo Takamori, a former Japanese dissident who had started an uprising. He allegedly miraculously managed to escape from government troops, finding refuge in the vastness of Russia. It is obvious that Tsarevich Nicholas and his companion Prince George did not then have, at least not closely, dedicated, competent advisers on Japanese affairs. And the Japanese believed that, allegedly hating Japan, Tsarevich Nicholas brought Saigo Takamori to their country so that he would develop subversive activities. Meanwhile, Tsarevich Nicholas and Prince George arrived at the port of Kobe, where he boarded a train and reached Kyoto. Further, in Nishi-Hoganji, he donated two hundred yen to help the poor (the salary of the police officers guarding Tsarevich Nicholas was 8-10 yen per month). Tsarevich Nicholas, Prince George and the Japanese Prince Arisugawa, who accompanied them, sat in new carriages - rickshaws - that had just been sent from Tokyo. Accompanied by a retinue, they went to the city of Otsu, located on the shores of Lake Biwa. In the city of Otsu, as well as in Kyoto, the organized Japanese welcomed Tsarevich Nicholas and the Greek Prince George. After viewing the captivating views of the picturesque Lake Biwa, the travelers headed back. At the same time, a rather long procession of rickshaws stretched for two hundred meters. Tsarevich Nicholas was in the fifth rickshaw, Prince George was in the sixth, and Prince Arisugawa was in the seventh. The narrow road was guarded by many policemen. However, the security of the august persons was not organized at all carefully. The police stood 18 meters apart from each other. And one of them, Tsuda Sanzo, rushed to Tsarevich Nicholas and struck him on the head with a saber. The hat fell from the Tsarevich's head. And although one of the rickshaw pushers jumped out from behind the carriage and managed to push the attacking criminal, he still managed to deliver a second blow with a saber. Both the first and second blows of the saber turned out to be sliding along the edge of the head, but the Tsarevich’s forehead was damaged. Tsarevich Nicholas jumped out of the carriage and ran. However, no one even tried to immediately detain the attacking criminal, who rushed after the Tsarevich. And only then did Prince George manage to use a bamboo cane to knock down the attacking policeman with a blow to the back of the head. And this was enough for the Tsarevich’s rickshaw to rush at Sanzo. The saber fell out of his hands. Taking advantage of this, Georg's rickshaw driver picked up his saber and struck the scoundrel on the back with it. Let me remind you that a piece of cloth with traces of the Tsarevich’s blood was used in the genetic identification of the supposed remains of the Royal Family. And she showed that these remains do not belong to members of the Royal Family.

This emergency led to a terrible panic in the Japanese government. Many members of the government feared that an angry Russia would demand huge payments and even territorial concessions. Emperor Meiji of Japan sent doctors for Tsarevich Nicholas and himself urgently went there the next day. Having arrived, he visited the Tsarevich at the hotel. The Emperor of Japan asked the Russian missionary to Japan, Father Nicholas, who was highly respected among the Japanese, to help resolve the conflict (through the efforts of Father Nicholas, by this time a grandiose Resurrection Cathedral had been erected in Tokyo, consecrated in early March of the same year). Tsarevich Nikolai donated a huge sum of money to Father Nikolai's mission - 10 thousand rubles, as well as magnificent bishop's vestments. Despite the persistent entreaties of the Japanese Emperor Meiji, Tsarevich Nicholas, on the orders of his parents, refused to further stay in Japan. Consoling the Japanese emperor, Tsarevich Nicholas said that his wounds were trivial, and there were crazy people everywhere. There were apparently no demands for monetary compensation.

It is striking that in Russia they learned about the injury of Tsarevich Nicholas not from the report of the Russian envoy Shevich, but from telegrams intercepted at the St. Petersburg telegraph of the Dutch envoy, who also represented the Swedish and Danish courts. The order of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs obligated to detain these telegrams in St. Petersburg (interception of telegrams was a common practice of that time). The assassin Tsuda Sanzo was from a samurai family. He took part in suppressing the rebellion of Sanzo Takamori. During the investigation, he testified that he feared that the Tsarevich had brought Saigo Takamori with him. In addition, it seemed to him that the Tsarevich and the Greek Prince George did not show any respect to the monument to the victims of the civil war and were carefully studying the surrounding area. Therefore, he considered them to be spies. It turned out that he had mental problems. This emergency also showed that militaristic-nationalist sentiments in Japan were growing rapidly... At a closed trial, Tsuda Sanzo was sentenced to life imprisonment, which he had to serve on the island. Hokkaido is in “Japanese Siberia”.

Russia awarded two rickshaw pullers who saved the life of Tsarevich Nicholas a huge lifelong pension of one thousand yen, which was equal to the annual salary of a member of parliament. And both rickshaw pullers received two orders each - the Order of Paulonius from Japan and St. Anne from Russia. The cane, with the help of which the Greek Prince George stopped the criminal, was requested to the capital of Russia a year later. She was decorated with precious stones and sent back to Athens.

After this, Emperor Nicholas II suffered from headaches all his life. In the same way, for the rest of his life he ordered prayers “for health” on May 11 (April 29, old style).

In this regard, a question arises. How could a Japanese man with an abnormal psyche get into the security of the sovereigns of Russia and Greece from the host state, receiving guests of such a high rank? Is this an accidental oversight or a secret political move due to the weak Russian military presence in the Far East?
It is interesting that in prison, according to competent sources, Tsuda Sanzo, who attacked the future sovereign of Russia, Tsarevich Nicholas, was fed much better than other prisoners. He was given milk and chicken eggs. An amount per day was allocated for food for an ordinary prisoner - 1 sen, and an egg cost 3 sen, a glass of milk also 3 sen (a sen is one hundredth of a yen). It is also interesting that he died suspiciously quickly - on September 30 of the same year.

However, in any case, it should be noted that in the light of this extraordinary incident, Japan actually remained in debt to Russia, especially since after that it also attacked Russia in 1904 and occupied part of our territory. And after all this, giving her any islands would not only be completely illogical, but also deeply immoral.

“Russian Messenger” has repeatedly written in addition to this that an analysis by competent specialists shows that there are no compelling reasons to give any islands to Japan, based on the history of the islands and international law.

http://www.rv.ru/content.php3?id=7789

According to tradition, which dates back to the era of Peter the Great, future heirs to the Russian throne at least once in their lives had to make a long trip around the world for educational purposes. During such a trip, an assassination attempt was made on the future Russian Tsar Nicholas II in the Japanese city of Otsu on April 29, 1891.

The Tsarevich set off on his journey on October 23, 1890 from Gatchina. The first major city was Vienna, after which in Trieste he boarded the cruiser "Memory of Azov" and went to Piraeus, where he was joined by the heir to the Greek throne, Prince George the First. The expedition visited many countries in the Asian region - Egypt, Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), Singapore, the island of Java, Siam (modern Thailand), China, after which, on April 15, 1891, "Memory of Azov", accompanied by several other ships, reached Japan.

For the Japanese side, this visit of the young crown prince was an important event in connection with the situation with the Kuril Islands. Although there were certain concerns, since there was some unrest among the people in this regard. Nevertheless, the Russian ships entered the port of Nagasaki and were greeted with honors befitting the person of the future Russian Tsar. For two weeks, the Tsarevich, accompanied by Prince George and the Japanese heir Arisugawa Takehito, explored the sights of Japan.

On April 29, the three princes and their retinue went sightseeing to the city of Otsu on the shores of Lake Biwa. Most of the Japanese greeted the princes cordially - city residents lined up along the procession, waving flags and lanterns. Due to the narrow streets of Otsu, horse-drawn carts had to be replaced by rickshaws. The delegation was guarded by police officers, who, according to etiquette, should always be facing the august persons. This moment turned out to be key - the guards noticed too late how one of the policemen was rushing with a saber at the Tsarevich. It is truly a miracle that the future emperor escaped death. This is how Nikolai himself describes what happened in a letter to his mother:

“We had not gone two hundred steps when suddenly a Japanese policeman rushes into the middle of the street and, holding a saber with both hands, hits me on the head from behind! I shouted to him in Russian: what do you want? – and made a jump over my jen-rickshaw. Turning around, I saw that he was still running at me with a raised saber. I rushed down the street as fast as I could, pressing my hand on the wound on my head. I wanted to hide in the crowd, but I couldn’t, because the Japanese, themselves frightened, fled in all directions...”

The first who tried to detain the criminal was Prince George, who followed the Russian Tsarevich in the same rickshaw cart. He hit the crazy policeman with his cane, but failed to stop him. Then Nikolai's rickshaw puller, Jisaburo Mukohata, and then George's rickshaw puller Kitagaichi Ichitaro rushed to the defense. It was they who detained the criminal, beating him to the ground, for which they were subsequently given a significant bonus and a generous lifelong allowance.
The prince was immediately given first aid, bandaged and taken to the house of a shop owner located nearby. The first thing Nikolai worried about when he came to his senses:

“If only the Japanese did not think that this incident could in any way change my feelings towards them and my gratitude for their hospitality.”

After a detailed medical examination and dressing, the victim was sent to a hotel in Kyoto, where he received stitches. There were two wounds - both about 10 cm long; part of the skull bone was also damaged.

The next day, Emperor Meiji arrived in Kyoto with a personal apology. The policeman named Tsuda Sanzo who carried out the attack was tried in the Supreme Court of Japan. Emperor Meiji issued a special decree “on a special procedure for the consideration of cases relating to the sphere of diplomacy.” On the one hand, everyone, including the Minister of Justice and most members of the government, insisted on the death penalty, but on the other hand, there was no legislative basis for this. As a result, Tsuda was sentenced to life at hard labor. He expressed his readiness to commit suicide by committing seppuku, but this was denied to him. A year later he died in hard labor, either from pneumonia, or by voluntarily starving himself to death.

This fatal incident did not pass without a trace for the future king - from that moment on, Nicolas would be tormented by headaches all his life. It should also be noted that this incident has nothing to do with the Russian-Japanese War, since the Japanese were the first to attack Russia. The facts that Emperor Nicholas II carried hatred for the Land of the Rising Sun throughout his life are also quite controversial.

It is curious that since then the curse “Japanese policeman” has appeared in the Russian language.

This exclamation was born at the end of the 19th century, namely in April 1891, when Tsarevich Nicholas, the future Tsar Nicholas II, was traveling through the countries of the East. The journey was of an entertaining nature, the Tsarevich and his friends had as much fun as they could.

Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov. Photo from 1890.

Their riotous fun, which violated Eastern traditions, was not very popular with the local residents, and finally, in the Japanese town of Otsu, a local policeman, outraged by the tactlessness of the Europeans, rushed at the crown prince and hit him on the head with a saber.
As soon as the carriage in which the rickshaw was carrying Nicholas caught up with a policeman named Tsuda Sanzo, the latter, drawing a samurai sword, rushed towards the prince.
The policeman's desire to kill the heir to the Russian throne was so great that he stumbled and the blow fell on a tangent. In addition, the hat slightly reduced the kinetic energy of the impact.

This was enough for the skull to remain unharmed, only the skin on Nikolai’s forehead cracked and blood splashed onto his shirt. The prince showed miracles of courage: he somersaulted over the rickshaw, pressed his palm against the wound and rushed down the street with all his might. At the very beginning of this throw, the terrible Japanese policeman struck again, but the prince dodged, although he felt a new cut on his head.
Emperor Nicholas II. 1898. Artist Ilya GALKIN

General Baryatinsky did not immediately manage to catch up with the fugitive. The would-be killer had been detained even before this, so he could safely return to the carriage. Nicholas was taken to the nearby large city of Kyoto, where he was placed in the governor's house. And the next day the Japanese emperor came to the prince with a feeling of complete repentance. The assassination attempt on Otsu caused a lot of noise in Japan, especially since at first the Mikado reported that the Russian was so seriously wounded that he would not survive until the morning. And this threatened, if not an instant declaration of war, then very serious troubles.
Artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi

The emperor did not arrive empty-handed: in order to hush up the incident, he awarded the guest the highest Order of the Chrysanthemum and presented the heir to the Russian throne with a handmade carpet with an area of ​​about 150 square meters. meters and hastened to assure that the offender of the son of the Russian emperor would be brought to justice and certainly punished.
Tsuda Sanzo asked the judges for permission to do hara-kiri. This was denied to him. He was exiled to the Japanese “Siberia” on the island of Hokkaido, where four months later he went on an indefinite hunger strike. In September, his soul “went” to Mount Fuji.

This event had a significant resonance in Russia. A Japanese policeman, instead of ensuring the safety of people, rushes at a man with a saber just because he laughs too loudly! Amazing policemen in Japan!

The heir returned to Russia. He ascended the throne on November 2, 1894, and 10 years later the Russo-Japanese War was in full swing. The Japanese emperor was pushed to this by John Bull and Uncle Sam.
Emperor Nicholas II. 1900 Artist Ernest LIPGART

The next year after it began, in 1905, satirist Nikolai Leikin published the story “An Incident in Kyoto” in the magazine “Oskolki,” which he himself published. The hero of the story, a Japanese policeman, is waiting for orders from his superiors, while a small child is drowning in the river. The censors, who saw an allusion to the “Japanese policeman” Tsudo Sanzo, willingly gave permission for publication. But she realized her mistake too quickly: the phrase “Japanese policeman” very soon became so popular that all Russian bailiffs began to be called that way!

The shirt with traces of the blood of Nicholas II, which he brought from Japan, has not sunk into oblivion. At first, it was carefully kept by the emperor himself; after 1917, it was not burned, but placed in the ethnographic museum, from where it was delivered to the Hermitage in 1941. When the remains of the royal family were discovered in 1991, the shirt was remembered. And in 2008, a DNA examination was carried out to establish that the remains found in the Urals belonged to the emperor.
American scientist Michael Korble, who headed the joint Russian-American examination, confirmed: the genetic profile from the DNA of bone remains discovered in the Urals completely coincides with the DNA gene profile isolated from the blood stains of Nicholas II from the Tsar’s shirt.

In the book about the treasures of the Kremlin Armory, there is a story about one of Faberge's Easter eggs, "Memory of Azov". The red ruby ​​on the latch and the reddish hues of the egg itself are reminiscent of the attack on Nicholas II during his visit to
Japan, when the young heir received a sword blow from a samurai fanatic and miraculously survived

Of course, this minor incident would have long been forgotten if the expression “Japanese policeman” had not also turned out to be a successful euphemism. When a person utters the first sound in a drawn-out manner, it seems that he is about to swear. However, the speaker is only remembering an old political scandal, which, most likely, he has never heard of.