Much like Beethoven, Mamoru Samuragochi managed to become a famous and successful composer despite the fact that he's deaf — but it turns out someone else has been doing the work for him. In a statement released through his lawyer, Samuragochi has admitted that for more than a decade a mystery composer has been writing music released under his name.

That includes his most famous piece, "The Symphony No.1 Hiroshima," which was completed in 2003 as a tribute to victims of the atomic bombings, as well as the upcoming theme for Japanese figure skater Daisuke Takahashi that will be used for his performance at the Sochi Olympics in Russia. "He is mentally distressed and not in a condition to properly express his own thoughts," Samuragochi's lawyer told the Japan Times.

"Losing my hearing was a gift from God."

Samuragochi is perhaps best know for his work in the video game industry, where he worked on notable titles like Resident Evil and Onimusha. It was while composing the score for the latter, in 1999, that he lost his hearing completely. "The saddest thing for me is not to be able to hear an orchestra perform my work," he told Time magazine in 2001. "But then I think, I am composing not for myself but to make other people happy." In that same interview he explained that he believed the hearing loss actually made him a better composer, saying "losing my hearing was a gift from God."

A music publisher has already canceled a release of one of Samuragochi's scores that was slated to launch in Japan next week. Meanwhile, the organizer of his current nationwide tour, which kicked off in June, is looking into whether to continue with future performances.