Emperor Meiji
The following day, when Nicholas expressed a desire to return to the Russian fleet at Kobe, Emperor Meiji ordered Prince Kitashirakawa and Prince Arisugawa Takehito to accompany him. Later, Emperor Meiji, ignoring protests from some senior statesman that he might be taken hostage, paid a personal visit to the Tsesarevich, who was recuperating on a Russian warship in Kobe harbor.