Sherlock took the paper from Ito.
“He was attacked?” he whispered immediately, staring at a frontpage article. “And while in Japan!”
“It happened near Lake Biwa, the largest lake in our country. It was just last year we received a visit from Prince Arthur, the third son of your Queen Victoria, and we believed we would have no trouble hosting dignitaries from other countries as well.”
“The days of joui are over, yes.” Sherlock folded the paper. “Tell me everything that occurred, in its entirety.”
“The gist of it is there in the paper.”
“No, I wish to hear it from you. Your perspective on the matter will have advantages that an English reporter lacks.” He closed his eyes, as if he were about to appreciate a fine concerto. “Begin.”
Ito hesitated, but he had no choice. He sighed. “The incident occurred on May 1, one week after you disappeared from the Reichenbach Falls.”
11
The Russian Empire was a gigantic nation, occupying the northern half of the entire Eurasian continent. For the past century they had been at war with the Ottoman Empire, aiming to expand their territory along the Mediterranean Sea, but British pressure had halted those plans.
So Russia turned its attention to the south. Its aim was to expand its control from China to Japan. In the winter, the seas adjacent to Russia froze over from the extreme cold, preventing them from launching ships; it was imperative that the nation have access to a warm-water port. And as Britain’s reach now stretched to China as well, a battle for influence between Britain and Russia was sparked in the Far East as well as in the Mediterranean.
When Emperor Alexander III ordered the 22-year-old Tsarevich Nicholas to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trans-Siberian Railway in Vladivostok, Nicholas had been spending the previous year travelling through Asia with his younger brother and cousin. They would end their journey at Vladivostok, attend the ceremony and then return to Saint Petersburg.
Though they had been travelling, theirs was no mere pleasure journey: Their trips were taken on massive, newly developed warships—part of a foreign policy of military display.
Nicholas and his companions began in Europe, travelling from Vienna to Greece. From there they visited Egypt, British India and Ceylon, then proceeded to Singapore, French Indochina, the Dutch East Indies, Siam, British Hong Kong, and finally Shanghai and Canton in China. Before returning to Vladivostok, they gave word that they would also make a stop in Japan.
It was only twenty years since the Reformation. For Japan, as a newly modernized and rather poor country, a visit from the crown prince of the great Russian Empire was a matter of no small importance. To complicate matters, Tsarevich Nicholas indicated that he wished to disembark from his warship and tour the country.
Just the previous year, Prince Arthur of Britain had visited Japan and purchased a painting by Shouen Uemura, The Beauty of Four Seasons. Perhaps the Tsarevich did not wish to be outdone. Japan was thorough in its preparations, knowing that any faux pas against the Tsarevich could lead to an international incident.
They chose Prince Takehito Arisugawa, a full colonel in the Japanese army, to head the Tsarevich’s escort. Lieutenant General Soroku Kawakami was to assist him. And Naohide Madenokoji, who had spent ten years in Russia as a foreign exchange student as part of the Iwakura Mission, served as interpreter.
Joui was a thing of the past. As a country governed by law, any acts of joui were treated as a criminal matter. But it was by no means true that such sentiments no longer held any sway. More than a few people in the country resented Russia vaunting its military strength at northern Japan. They were fearful of what might happen. The escort arranged for the Tsarevich decided that security should be on full alert during his visit. They stationed both uniformed and plain-clothes policemen along all roads.
Finally, on April 27, three advanced Russian warships were deployed to Kagoshima, while four more made port in Kobe. The Pamiat Azova, the flagship which bore Nicholas, docked in Nagasaki. The contingent’s size was nearly what you might expect of an invasion.
Nicholas’ younger brother had taken ill during their tour of Asia and been forced to return home early. Therefore, only Nicholas and his cousin, Prince George of Greece, visited Japan. The Japanese government received them as guests of state.
Nicholas began his tour dressed unofficially, in a suit and necktie. Easter was approaching, as was his birthday. His itinerary remained uncertain, as Japan was anxious to make appropriate arrangements for both. Before the trip could progress, however, Nicholas began sneaking away to explore the streets of Nagasaki.
It seemed that the Tsarevich—influenced by Madame Chrysanthème, by Pierre Loti, a French writer known for his romantic novels—hoped to find himself a Japanese wife. Indeed, many Russian officers had taken Japanese wives—a fact that seems to have only inflamed Nicholas’ passion for Japanese women. He held sumptuous parties nearly every day and lavished invitations on geisha.
Nicholas also actively visited the homes of ordinary Japanese people. The interpreter, Madenokoji, said the Tsarevich found the Japanese people friendly and welcoming—a marked contrast to the Chinese.
Nicholas was apparently so taken with Japanese culture that he even got a tattoo of a dragon on his right arm. On May 4, around the time Holmes pushed Moriarty over the Reichenbach Falls, the governor of Nagasaki Prefecture threw the Tsarevich a welcoming party. He was shown Arita porcelain and toured Suwa Shrine.
On the 6th he went to Kagoshima. Though Duke Tadayoshi Shimazu—the last daimyo of the Satsuma Domain—was known to dislike foreigners, he entertained Nicholas warmly. One hundred and seventy elderly warriors performed a samurai dance in his honor, and Shimazu himself even engaged in a dog-shooting exercise. (According to several accounts Prince Ukhtomsky, who accompanied Tsarevich Nicholas, seemed offended by this second display. Nicholas himself, however, was delighted.)
On the 9th Nicholas arrived in Kobe via the Inland Sea, and from there travelled to Kyoto by train. They even held the Kyoto mountain bonfire festival, Gozan no Okuribi, out of season, in his honor. On the 10th he visited Fukiage Omiya Palace, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Higashi Hongon-ji Temple, Nishi Hongon-ji Temple, Nijo Imperial Villa, and Kamowakeikazuchi Shrine. He watched a traditional match of kemari at the Asukai Estate, and then horse races at Kamo Shrine. Nicholas seemed particularly taken with Kyoto. Once he was told it had been the old capital, he referred to it as the Moscow of Japan.
The 11th was the day of the incident. It was a little past noon. Nicholas had taken a day trip to Lake Biwa to see the sights, and had stopped for lunch in Shiga Prefecture.
On the way back, Nicholas led the rickshaw procession, followed by Prince George, with Prince Takehito behind. Many more rickshaws followed behind carrying attendants, military officers, luggage and so forth. The road leading back to Kyoto through the town of Otsu was lined with a swarm of people who had come out to welcome the Tsarevich, but all had been ordered to keep their heads bowed, just as though the Emperor were passing through. The guards and police performed the deepest ceremonial bows of all. There were no cheers of greeting. The entire crowd waited in solemn silence as the Tsarevich passed. The rickshaw wheels creaked, and the national flags hoisted over the streets flapped in the wind. There were no other sounds.
It was then that a member of the Shiga police force—responsible for Nicholas’ safe passage—drew his sabre and swung at the Tsarevich. The policeman’s name was Sanzo Tsuda. He was 36 years old.