It could be from his stop (which included Japan) on his world tour in 1902. In 1901 he had a liaison with Jeanne Aumont-Lacroix (rumor, seemingly unsubstantiated, having it that he sired a son with her). Vladimir & Marie then sent him, with the Czar’s approval, on a world tour. He left Russian in late 1901 for France and from there embarked on a tour which include stops in Egypt, India, Ceylon, Siam, French Indochina, Japan, Hawaii, California, Chicago and New York. Part of his stay in Japan was around mid-July 1902 where it was covered in the New York Times.