On May 11, 1891, in the Japanese city of Otsu, a policeman (and a former samurai) Tsuda Sanzo attacked Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Nicholas II. The policeman managed to inflict two blows with a saber, but the wounds were not serious. The consequences were dire.
Nikolai managed to run away from the attacker. The Greek Prince George, who was accompanying Nicholas on his trip to Japan, and also two rickshaws (who were later awarded the Orders of St. Anne by Nikolai Alexandrovich himself) prevented the Tsarevich from hitting the Tsarevich again.
The Japanese government has offered its most sincere apologies for what happened. Emperor Meiji personally visited the Russian heir. Moreover - an unprecedented event in Japanese history - the emperor visited Nikolai Alexandrovich aboard the cruiser Pamyat Azov, where the Tsarevich preferred to stay after the assassination attempt.
The Japanese feared that the Otsu emergency might spark a war between the two states. And in general, of course, the event was extremely unpleasant - an attempt on the life of the heir to the throne of a foreign power.
Tsuda Sanzo himself explained his act by the fact that he considered the behavior of foreign visitors insufficiently respectful towards the emperor and the shrines of Japan. In addition, he suspected Nikolai and Georg of espionage - otherwise why would they carefully inspect the surroundings. Some historians believe that Tsuda Sanzo's testimony indicates that he has mental problems.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment, a few months after the sentence, the former samurai died in prison on the island of Hokkaido.
According to the testimony of Sergei Witte, the incident greatly influenced the relationship of Nikolai Alexandrovich to Japan. Despite numerous apologies from the host, the visit was interrupted. The heir to the throne refused to visit the Japanese capital.
Throughout his life, Nikolai suffered from headaches, even though the wounds inflicted by Tsuda Sanzo were not severe. As Witte notes, having already become emperor, Nikolai Alexandrovich willingly listened to those who considered it necessary to "put the Japanese in their place." He treated Japan with disdain, considering it weak. And he even allowed himself insulting remarks about the Japanese.
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Of course, it would be wrong to explain all the problems in relations between Russia and Japan only to what happened in Otsu. But what happened did have a certain impact. Including Nicholas II's personal underestimation of the capabilities of the Japanese. Which later cost the Russian Empire dearly.