Japanese 'Beethoven' admits to using ghostwriter

Mamoru Samuragochi has been hailed as the "Japanese Beethoven", but he recently admitted to using a ghostwriter and lying about being deaf.

Samuragochi's ghostwriting partner stepped forward yesterday to reveal that not only has he helped the famous musician compose his work for the past 18 years, but that Samuragochi has been lying about becoming completely deaf at age 35, reports The Japan Times . Takashi Niigaki, 43, told reporters at a press conference that he wrote some of Samuragochi's most famous pieces, including "Symphony No. 1 (Hiroshima)", which will be used by figure skater Daisuke Takahashi in the Sochi Olympics. He said, “I continued to write pieces under Samuragochi’s instruction, knowing that he was deceiving the public, and releasing the music. I’m Samuragochi’s partner in crime.” Niigaki also said that he and Samuragochi would have conversations about the compositions, and that the famous musician was not deaf.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Samuragochi claimed to be the child of a survivor of the Hiroshima bomb and that he became deaf at age 35 due to a degenerative illness. The Wall Street Journal also reports that Samuragochi issued a statement through his lawyer admitting to using a ghostwriter and apologizing for deceiving his fans, though he has not acknowledged Niigaki's claims that he is not deaf.

Check out this video of Olympian Daisuke Talahasi skating to one of Samuragochi's (or rather, Niigaki's) compositions:

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