In a letter of Saigo five days later, however, it is recorded, 'Although I allowed Hanjiro NAKAMURA to visit Choshu, he was stopped at the border of the domain and could not enter,' and we can know that under the situation at that time the retainers of the Satsuma domain could not enter the territory of Choshu domain even if they might be going into the residence of the domain in Kyoto.
しかし、5日後の西郷書簡には「中村半次郎を長州へ行かせたが、藩境でとめられ入国できなかった」とあって、当時の状況では、京都藩邸はともかく、長州本国へ薩摩藩士が入国することは不可能だったと知れる。