Resident Evil and Onimusha composer ‘a fraud’

February 8, 2014

If you remember the music from the original Resident Evil, and early PS2 title Onimusha, then you’ll be somewhat familiar with the works of Japanese composer Mamoru Samuragochi. Samuragochi is a highly regarded composer in Japan, having also worked on the Hiroshima symphony, which sold over 100000 copies in Japan, and became known as the “symphony of hope”, after Samuragochi was seen meeting survivors of the 2011 Touhoku earthquake and tsunami. The composer was often nicknames as “Japan’s Beethoven” owing both to his prodigious talent and the fact he was almost completely deaf.

Well, now it’s been revealed that Samuragochi is not only not deaf, but he also didn’t compose any of the songs he’s claimed credit for over the past twenty years or so. Instead, much of his music was composed by a music professor, Takashi Niigaki. It was Niigaki who revealed the fraud, saying “I can’t fool people anymore”.

According to a statement released by  Samuragochi, he would provide the overall themes and ideas for the music, while Niigaki composed it. Niigaki says that, at no point during their collaborations did he believe Samuragochi was deaf. Samuragochi’s record company is furious at the deception saying it had been “assured by him that he himself had composed the works.”

The revelations have repercussions for Japanese figure skater Daisuki Takahashi, due to compete at the Sochi games, who had intended on using one of Samuragochi’s pieces for his performance.