The recently published historiographical work "The Light of the Shogunate" by renowned Japanese historian Takahashi Tomoya tells an intriguing story involving two high-profile figures of the time, the famous British explorer Richard Hamilton and Yagyu Hidemasa, a well-respected samurai and sword master of the Edo period.
One day, Hamilton fell into a drunken rage on the streets of Edo due to excessive drinking, when he imitated a Japanese samurai wearing and wielding a Japanese sword in the streets of Edo, and his out-of-control behavior sparked a dispute with the local residents. Later, several Japanese ronins appeared and engaged in a fierce fight with Hamilton, in which Hamilton was injured and fell to the ground, and the field was even exposed, and he collapsed and died on the side of the road.
Coincidentally, Hidemasa Yagyu was passing by, witnessed this scene, and mistakenly thought that Hamilton was a samurai who survived after seppuku, so he hurriedly stepped forward to make a mistake and directly beheaded Hamilton with a knife.
It wasn't until his British friend arrived that Hidemasa Yanagi realized that he had made a mistake.
Historian Tomoya Takahashi recorded this event in detail and analyzed this particular episode in depth, which became one of the vivid examples of cultural exchange and misunderstanding during the Shogunate period.