The sabre struck Nicholas above his right ear. In addition to the cut, the sabre was heavy enough to damage his skull. Nicholas jumped from the rickshaw and fled to the side of the road.
Tsuda chased after Nicholas and attempted to strike again. Prince George managed to hit Tsuda on the back with a bamboo cane. He flinched at the blow but did not stop his pursuit. But the puller of Nicholas’ rickshaw, Jizaburo Mukohata, took this chance to tackle Tsuda by the legs. Meanwhile the puller of Prince George’s rickshaw, Ichitaro Kitagaichi, picked up the sabre and struck Tsuda on his neck.
Prince Takehito attempted to rush to their side but was blocked by the crowd. By the time he finally reached Nicholas, Tsuda had already been restrained. There was a cut on Nicholas’ head a little under four inches in length. As for how deep it went, they couldn’t tell.
The Prince immediately realized the gravity of the situation. Giving orders to his attendants, he soon wrote up a full summary of the event. And then a telegram was dispatched to Tokyo, to Emperor Meiji.
12
“And what did you do when this happened?” Sherlock asked, when Ito had finished his account.
“I rushed back to Tokyo.”
“When was this?”
“I transferred from a rickshaw to an overnight train, and arrived at Shimbashi Station at one in the afternoon.”
Sherlock pulled an exasperated face. “Chairman Ito, the Crown Prince of Russia was visiting Japan. Surely it was no time for you to slip away on one of your excursions.”
“No!” Ito rushed forward, flustered. “What are you saying? I was at Sorokaku Villa, my second home in Odawara. I had already sold our home in Takanawa Minamimachi, and the Odawara villa will soon be our main residence. I am even planning to build a new villa in Oiso.”
“Please confine yourself to only truthful statements, Chairman. I located Odawara on the map last night. It is not very far from Tokyo. Furthermore, I assume those in the Japanese government are aware of your Odawara villa. If you had been where you said you were, they would have contacted you earlier. You were not present at Sorokaku Villa when the incident occurred. This is precisely why you have now been provided with your current residence. The Arisugawa-no-miya household was compelled to provide it for you. On the day that Tsarevich Nicholas was injured, I suspect you were in the vicinity of the Hakone spas, dallying instead with the geisha who—”
Sherlock’s powers of perception were formidable indeed! Ito interrupted, raising his voice loudly. “Enough! I surrender. I was indeed at Tonosawa hot springs.”
“You should have told me so from the beginning. And what did you do upon arriving at Shimbashi Station?”
“They had sent a carriage from the palace. After rushing here, I found that His Grace was asleep in his residences.”
“His Grace?”
“The Emperor.”
“You were unable to wake him?”
“His Grace deigned to receive me in his sleeping quarters so as to hear my opinion, still dressed in his bedclothes.”
“And did His Majesty immediately begin with questions?”
Ito groaned reluctantly. “He first lectured me on moderation.”
A disparaging look crossed Sherlock’s face. “You give even the Emperor cause for concern.”
“I regretted my actions deeply. Of course, I apologized. Fortunately, His Grace still has faith in me as a politician.”
“Certainly. If not, you would have never been permitted into his sleeping chambers.”
“Had you the time and money,” Ito probed, “wouldn’t you yourself consider paying a visit to the geisha quarters?”
“Certainly not.” Sherlock’s gaze was steely. “Then, tell me, what did the Emperor say?”
“His Grace stated his intention to travel to Kyoto and apologize directly to Tsarevich Nicholas… Prince Takehito recommended he do so in his report, and His Grace agreed.”
“It seems it was a most serious situation.”
“Indeed. Everyone was of one mind, you could see it in their eyes. An island nation of 40 million people, against a continental nation of 120 million? Japan doesn’t have the strength yet to fight a great empire like Russia. The Russian navy is six times the size of our own, and their naval budget eight that. We are no match for them. If there was a war, Japan would surely lose.”
“And so was the Emperor able to meet with Tsarevich Nicholas?”
Ito nodded. “His Grace boarded a morning train and arrived in Kyoto by nightfall. At the request of a Russian court physician the meeting was postponed until the following day, and His Grace slept at the Kyoto Imperial Palace that night. On the following day, the 13th, His Grace visited Tsarevich Nicholas at the Tokiwa Hotel.”
“You did not accompany the Emperor?”
“First there was an emergency meeting in Tokyo to discuss our response—I certainly had no time for ‘excursions’ then. I left for Kyoto nine hours later, and was even permitted inside when His Grace met with Tsarevich Nicholas. This surprised me—even Prince Takehito and the interpreter had been barred entry. But I had been there when His Grace met the Tsarevich several years earlier during an official ceremony. Perhaps that was why I was allowed inside.”
“It’s only natural that the Russians would show such caution, seeing as how the Tsarevich had so recently been assaulted by an officer of the law.”
“His Grace apologized to Tsarevich Nicholas. Originally, the Tsarevich had been scheduled to visit Tokyo as well. His Grace expressed his desire that he should still feel welcome.”
“And how did Nicholas respond?”
“He stated that he would have to await his father’s direction as to whether or not he would visit Tokyo. But he did add that he was grateful to the people of Japan for their warmth and concern.”
“It seems unlikely that the Emperor and Empress Alexander III would allow their son to continue his tour of Japan after sustaining such a grievous injury.”
“Very unlikely. In the end, the visit to Tokyo did not occur. We received notice on May 19 that the Tsarevich would be departing. His Grace had hoped to invite Tsarevich Nicholas to a supper at the Imperial Villa in Kobe, but the Russians refused this invitation as well. Instead the Russians held a luncheon upon one of their warships, indicating that they wished to invite His Grace to join them. I was adamantly opposed to this, as were the members of the cabinet.”
“That is understandable. If the warship had departed with the Emperor still aboard he should have been kidnapped.”
“His Grace insisted that we must trust the Russians. The luncheon occurred without incident, and His Grace returned to the palace.”
“His Grace is brave.”
“And then on the 20th, one day after originally scheduled, the Russian warships departed for home.
“It is what occurred after that which is the problem. Japan was gripped by panic. Rumors ran amok that the Russians were going to retaliate. Schools were closed, and people came out in mass to pray at the shrines and temples. In Yamagata Prefecture’s Kaneyama Village, local officials outlawed both the last name Tsuda and the first name Sanzo. A woman even committed suicide in front of the Kyoto Prefectural Office by slitting her throat, as a means of showing contrition to Russia.”
Sherlock snorted.
Ito was taken aback. “Do you laugh?”
“A drastic step, considering she was not even an acquaintance of Nicholas. Her death only further inflamed passions, I imagine.”
Ito hesitated, but chose to be honest. “True, the chaos only spread. Some glorified her for what she did, but there were also those who reacted negatively. They commended Sanzo Tsuda for his attack on the Tsarevich, seemingly driven by joui… But regardless of which side people took, both believed war was imminent.”