<h2>That would be about 250 million yen.&#8221;</h2>
It has been almost four years since the death of Kosuke Nozaki, a wealthy man from Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, known as the Don Juan of Kishu. Despite the arrest of his ex-wife, 55 years his junior, last April, there have been no developments since then, and there is still no sign of the truth coming to light.
<figure id="attachment_239648" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 2877px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-239648"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9072ee5b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/anana.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-239648" class="wp-caption-text">Don Juan kept his treasured paintings in the house.</figcaption></figure>
After his death, a number of inexplicable things happened, but one more extraordinary thing happened. A painting that had belonged to Don Juan had been sold.
 That one is a Renoir, worth about 250 million yen. That one is Chagall, about 100 million.
When I visited Don Juan at his home, he introduced me to a number of &#8220;paintings&#8221; he owned. I was amazed at the number of paintings by artists such as Renoir, Chagall, and Tsuguharu Fujita that were displayed in Don Juan&#8217;s home, and was impressed by the wealthy man.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
Whenever he was interviewed by the media, he always introduced these paintings. Because Don Juan was a man who sometimes took a big bath, many reporters doubted whether the paintings were genuine or not.
However, he assured me that &#8220;I lost the certificate of authenticity.
 I lost the certificate of authenticity, but they are all genuine.
He was bold, but not a liar. I am sure he was right about the authenticity of these paintings.
<figure id="attachment_239650" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 1280px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-239650"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="071f3d7a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/dd5a38df8230c2abcf43ec4aec77ae14.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-239650" class="wp-caption-text">Chagall&#8217;s paintings. There were many such paintings on the wall&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
However, the paintings that Don Juan had cherished were not genuine. The paintings that Don Juan treasured so much were finally sold.
After Don Juan&#8217;s death, the issue of his &#8220;inheritance&#8221; has been the focus of much attention. As a result of the author&#8217;s extensive interviews with the people concerned, we estimated that Don Juan&#8217;s estate, consisting mainly of savings, stocks, and real estate, amounted to approximately 3 billion yen. It was naturally assumed that his surviving family members would inherit these assets. His wife was entitled to inherit three-fourths of his estate.
As mentioned above, his wife, who is 55 years younger than him, was arrested for the murder of Don Juan and is currently in jail. Whether or not she would receive the inheritance in the future, the family was entitled to at least one-fourth of the estate.
However, the situation was not as simple as it seemed. In the summer of 2006, about three months after Don Juan&#8217;s death, his &#8220;will&#8221; suddenly appeared. In it, he had written, &#8220;My property will be donated to Tanabe City.
Based on this &#8220;will,&#8221; Tanabe City announced in the fall of 2007 that it would accept the will. Tanabe City independently estimated the amount to be approximately 1.4 billion yen.
If Don Juan had really wanted to donate his estate to Tanabe City, the story would have ended here, but in fact, in the summer of 2008, the bereaved family (not including the ex-wife) filed a lawsuit against Tanabe City, claiming that the will was invalid, because the handwriting in the will was not Don Juan&#8217;s.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
The case is still ongoing, but if the bereaved family wins this &#8220;will trial,&#8221; Tanabe City will likely have to reimburse the bereaved family for the assets it sold.
<figure id="attachment_239791" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 5184px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-239791"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="43f2fa91"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/IMG_0328.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-239791" class="wp-caption-text">This is Renoir.</figcaption></figure>
In the midst of all this, a painting owned by Don Juan was finally sold by the city&#8230;.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Will it ever come back to the bereaved families..."></div>
It was on March 11. It was revealed at a meeting of the Tanabe City Planning and General Affairs Committee that the city had sold the paintings. One of the attendees revealed, &#8220;The shaga belonged to Mr. Nozaki.
 One of the committee members who attended the meeting revealed, &#8220;Mr. Nozaki reported that a Chagall painting he owned had been sold for 100 million yen. I was surprised at the amount. Many people were skeptical about whether the painting was genuine or not. The fact that it was sold probably means that it was genuine.
 On the other hand, since there was a dispute over the will, I wondered if I could really sell it&#8230;? On the other hand, since there was a dispute over the will, I wondered if I could really sell it&#8230;. There was no explanation of the details of the sale, such as where in the world the property was sold to, so I found it puzzling. Various questions instantly came to mind, such as whether the price of 100 million yen was fair, whether it could have been higher, and what kind of damage would be incurred if they lost the lawsuit.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
If Don Juan&#8217;s will was not valid, Tanabe City would have sold Don Juan&#8217;s treasured painting collection to some trader or collector without confirming his intentions&#8230;. If the bereaved family wins in court, will the paintings be returned to them? Or not&#8230;
<figure id="attachment_239792" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 5184px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-239792"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="12156b3d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/IMG_0329.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-239792" class="wp-caption-text">Painting by Tsuguharu Fujita</figcaption></figure>
When we asked the Tanabe City Government&#8217;s Contract Division, which has jurisdiction over this case, they replied, &#8220;We are not sure if the painting was sold or not.
 We asked the Tanabe City Contract Division, which has jurisdiction over this case, and they replied, &#8220;We cannot answer whether the paintings were sold or not. （We will not answer (about the will invalidation trial),&#8221; they replied.
I can&#8217;t answer whether or not he sold the paintings.
Four years after his death, the Don Juan case and its aftermath are still of great interest to the public. Tanabe City should be aware of this fact, and if they have nothing to hide, they should be open and honest in their explanation to the public.

 Takashi Yoshida

 It has been almost four years since the death of Kosuke Nozaki, a wealthy man from Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, known as the Don Juan of Kishu. Despite the arrest of his ex-wife, 55 years his junior, in April last year, he was still a very active member of the Kishu family.

Shocking! A painting cherished by Don Juan of Kishu was sold

Access Ranking