Japanese reports accused Richardson of continuing to ride in the middle of the road, and trying to get between Shimazu's litter and his bodyguards. In Japan, the "samurai" had a legal right known as "kiri-sute gomen" which allowed them to kill anyone of a lower class for perceived disrespect, which would have justified the killing by Shimazu's retinue. The Japanese instanced Eugene Van Reed, an American who had dismounted and bowed before a "daimyō"s train, as evidence that the insolent attitude of Lennox and his party as having caused the incident. Van Reed's conduct had appalled the Western community, who believed that Westerners should hold themselves with dignity before the Japanese, being at least the equal of any Japanese person. There were also later suggestions that Richardson had acted in a similar manner towards Chinese people while horseback riding in China, and according to the "Japan Herald "Extra"" of Tuesday 16 September 1862, he had been heard to say just before the incident, "I know how to deal with these people". Richardson's uncle was reportedly not surprised about his nephew's demise, but blamed him for being reckless and stubborn. Frederick Wright-Bruce, the British envoy to China, remembered Richardson as an "arrogant adventurer".