was a Japanese

policeman A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

who in 1891 attempted to assassinate the Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia (later Emperor

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

), in what became known as the

Ōtsu incident The was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (later Emperor Nicholas II of Russia) on , during his visit to Japan as part of his eastern journey. Background Tsarevich Nicholas had travelled by se ...

. He was convicted for attempted murder and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

Biography

Born into a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family in the village of Kanayama, his ancestors were doctors to the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

s'' of

Iga IGA or IgA may refer to: Businesses and organizations * IGA (supermarkets) (initially Independent Grocers Alliance), a name used by many independent supermarkets throughout the world ** IGA (Australian supermarket group), the local Australian v ...

. The Tsuda clan got stipend of 130 koku. His father was Tsuda Choan and his mother was Kino. Sanzo was the second son; his older brother Yotsugu ran away from home and was never seen again, while his younger brother Chiyoyoshi became a military police officer and then a worker at the Miyoshi Electric Factory. In 1872 he was drafted into the army. He participated as a sergeant in the suppression of the uprising of the samurai in 1877 under the leadership of

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

. Since 1882 9 january he has left the army onward, he served in the police force since 15 march 1882. He served in

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

Matsusaka is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 people per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geography ...

police station until 1885 when he was fired for conflict with another policeman in a party. Since 1885 december he was entered as police man in

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

and he was twice rewarded by Medal for Merit until

. Tsuda family lived in Yanagiwara , Shitaya , Edo (present-day Taitō Ward , Tokyo ). When Sanzo was 7 or 8 years old (during the Bunkyū era), Choan got into a sword fight and was reduced in rank and moved to Iga Ueno , while Choan was placed under lifelong house arrest. In 1870 , he moved to Tokyo and enlisted in the Tokyo Garrison . In March 1872, he was transferred to the Nagoya Garrison . In March of the following year, 1873, he was deployed under Major Nogi Maresuke to suppress the Echizen Goho Tai-Ikki. In July, he was transferred to the Kanazawa Sub-Army. In his private life, he married Okamoto Sehei's daughter Kameo, and had two children, a son, Motohisa, and a daughter, Mitsu.

Ōtsu incident

In 1891, then-Tsesarevich Nicholas visited Japan during his eastern journeys. As the Russian party traveled through

Ōtsu 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153,458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . History Ōtsu is ...

on May 11 (April 29 in the Russian Old Style), Tsuda, who was assigned to guard the street that the distinguished guests would follow, swung his saber at Nicholas, aiming at his head. Nicholas turned and the blow grazed him, leaving a 9-centimeter scar on his head. At the trial, Tsuda indicated that he had attempted to assassinate Nicholas because he suspected that he was a Russian spy. Tsuda was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 25, 1891, which he had to serve in

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, often called "the Japanese Siberia". However, on September 30 of that year, Tsuda died in prison from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. According to another version, he starved himself to death. In his native village after the incident, it was forbidden to give newborn children the name Tsuda, and his family became outcasts. There were also calls to rename the city of

because of its association with the disgraceful act.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuda, Sanzo 1855 births 1891 deaths Failed assassins Japanese police officers Japanese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Nicholas II of Russia People from Musashi Province Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Japan Prisoners who died in Japanese detention