I'm Not a Detective

Tatsuo Uchii runs an art gallery called Shochiku Drum. It's called an art gallery, but it's actually a private gallery. It mainly sells art works to make money. It also rents out space to hold private art exhibitions and auctions. It's quite famous in the Hirano art circle.

By the time Takeshi Nanahara and his party arrived at the Shochikugu Museum of Art, it was almost six o'clock and the sky was already dark. The staff at the entrance of the museum reminded them that the museum would be closing soon and that tickets were no longer on sale until the purpose of their visit was known. Only then did he suddenly realize that he pointed out the location of the side door and asked them to go in there to find the curator.

Nakano Eri nodded her thanks and went to the side door. However, Takeshi Nanahara looked thoughtfully at the slightly broken promotional poster in front of the venue and asked: "Ichinose Nori's works have been brought to light again? Are the authentic works of Ichinose Nori in your art museum?"

The staff member smiled and said, "Yes, we are already preparing for the auction. It will be this weekend."

Takeshi Nanabahara asked with interest: "How long has it been displayed in the art museum before?"

The staff thought for a moment and said, "It will take about three weeks. The public exhibition ended last weekend. If you had come two days earlier, you could have enjoyed it."

Takeshi Nanahara smiled and asked: "Is this the original plan?"

The staff was a little confused, but still smiled and replied: "Yes, the original plan was to have the public exhibition for about three weeks to warm up the auction and expand our reputation. Well, there are also some other works on public exhibition at the same time. , is the largest public exhibition event of our art museum in recent years.”

"Thank you." Takeshi Nanahara thanked him sincerely and turned to the side door.

"Who is Ichinose Nori?" Qingjian Ruri was desperately flipping through her small notepad. She had this name in her mind, but she couldn't find it for a while.

Takeshi Nanahara said casually: "An unlucky monk."

"What do you mean? Tell me in detail." Qing Jian Liuli simply stopped talking and directly asked the know-it-all Qi Yuanwu.

Takeshi Nanahara glanced at her and saw the white light of interest flashing on Nakano Eri's lenses, so he gave a brief education to two girls, one large and one small, who didn't care about art.

Ichinose Nori was born in a family of poor samurai, and was the second son without inheritance rights. Not long after he was born, his father sent him to a temple to become a young monk. After he grew up working hard in the temple, because of his handsome features, shy personality like a woman, and talent in painting, he was noticed by the local daimyo and was selected as a member of Ami. He was regarded as a fellow disciple - he was responsible for the daimyo Diners who entertain themselves and relieve their boredom usually have some talents. For example, Oda Nobunaga has Ami and Zeami around him.

To put it simply, Nori Ichinose can be regarded as a "royal painter", and his main job is to draw pornographic books for the lord to relieve his boredom.

After he became a fellow, his living conditions improved greatly, and he was exposed to a broader art world, which laid a good foundation for his future advancement in painting. However, the good times did not last long, and he did not settle down for five or six years. The daimyo he followed was exterminated, and he was forced to return to the temple. Later, because he could no longer get used to the poor life in the temple, he began to look for a new daimyo and took the initiative to sell himself.

He successively sought refuge with many minor lords, city lords and even a wealthy family in a certain place. Each time his status became lower and lower, but he could not settle down for more than two days. The master's family was either killed or imprisoned, or he became a monk. In the end, he was He was forced to wander around, and for a time he made a living by selling paintings to merchants. However, during the war, the emperor's family had to sell calligraphy and paintings to support their family. This business was so complicated that even if his painting skills improved, he was still in a state of half-life all day long. The state of being hungry,

More than ten years passed like this, and he wandered to Kyushu Island. At least he survived until the monkeys took over the world and the war subsided.

At this time, he was already well-known in the art world. He was recruited as a painter by Monkey's successor, Toyotomi Hidetsu, who traveled around the world with him and asked him to paint pictures of the world's scenic spots. But he just felt that he was finally in peace and that his life was about to usher in a new stage. Because the monkey gave birth to a biological son, he wanted to deprive Toyotomi Hideji of his inheritance rights, and convicted Toyotomi Hideji of treason...

Toyotomi Hideji was ordered to commit suicide. He also became a member of the criminal party of the "conspiracy to rebel" and fled to Okinoshima to live in seclusion.

Maybe it’s just how miserable a person is, how high his artistic level is. During his seclusion in Okinoshima, because he had nothing to do and was so afraid of being beheaded, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to artistic creation to anesthetize himself. Like other Japanese painters, he tried to integrate the very unique lines in the Chinese Jiangnan woodblock prints and illustrations of legendary novels of the Ming Dynasty that he came into contact with on Kyushu Island into his own works. He has already created several examples of Japanese ukiyo-e paintings in later generations. Different flavor.

Well, Ukiyo-e originated from the Jiangnan prints of China, that is, the New Year pictures of a fat baby holding a fish. At that time, a large number of Song and Ming storybooks with woodblock illustrations were introduced to Japan and were loved and imitated by many painters. Gradually, Ukiyo-e came into being. Later, Ukiyo-e spread to Europe and influenced Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet and others. The Western modernist works that many people like now trace their roots to the fat dolls from the south of China.

After living in seclusion on Okinoshima for a period of time, Ichinose Nori finally perfected his painting skills and developed his own style. At this time, Japan was at peace, and Tokugawa Ieyasu finally conquered the world with the support of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's beloved wife Chacha.

After the Tokugawa shogunate completely stabilized the situation and cleaned up all the rebellious parties, another two or three years passed. The Tokugawa shogunate was ready to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous age. It finally turned its attention to the field of art and wanted to open institutions such as chess academies and painting academies. He was prepared to recruit him as a royal painter, and was also prepared to give him the status of a Hatamoto samurai.

Ichinose Nori was naturally very excited when he received the news. He felt that he had finally made it through. He had a party and celebrated, but he died suddenly of excessive drinking. Only his posthumous works were sent to Edo, finally ending his ill-fated life - some people say He drank too much because of excitement and ran wildly. In the end, he was drunk and froze to death in the snow, but that didn't matter, he was dead anyway.

Takeshi Nanabahara briefly told the life experience of Ichinose Nori, and finally said: "At that time, his posthumous works were not paid much attention. When they were sent to Edo, they were thrown into the warehouse to eat ashes. Many of them were damaged due to poor storage. Only the early works were Some of the eighteen-banned works were very popular. It was not until the middle and late shogunate period that his works began to be popular again under the influence of Western trends. However, after nearly two hundred years, there were not many intact works that he could find. During the turmoil in Edo, many of them were burned and lost, and not many are left that can be passed down to this day."

"So that's it." Qingjian Liuli felt that she had learned a lot again, but she didn't care whether an ancient man was unlucky or not, nor did she care about the artistic value. She only asked curiously: "If few of his paintings have been handed down, what will happen to his paintings?" It must be valuable, right?”

"Vulgar!" Takeshi Nanahara glanced at her disdainfully, "How can art be measured by money?"

"That means it's not very valuable?"

Takeshi Nanabaru touched his chin and pondered for a moment, then said: "He is not the kind of painter who can be admitted into textbooks. Although his artistic style is similar to 'meat-ink Ukiyo-e', Hishikawa Shinobu is recognized by everyone as the meat-ink Ukiyo-e." The founder, the light completely covered him up, and he didn’t have much fame left. At most, his paintings can be exhibited as national treasures. One painting is probably worth 300 to 50 million yen, depending on when he was from it. work.

The early erotic pictures and the late meat-ink paintings with distinctive artistic styles are more valuable for collection and have appreciation potential. Collectors and insurance companies with unique hobbies will like them very much. The legends of legends and monsters painted for Hunfan in the middle period are much worse. Far inferior to the works of famous contemporaries. "

"Thirty to fifty million yen is quite a lot." Qingmi Ruri is not very familiar with the economy, but she also knows that at this price, you can buy a large villa in Hirano, and even Matsunai Yuki's river view room is not worth it. He couldn't say less, and said in deep thought, "I flipped through my notepad just now. Yuuto Matsuuchi came here two days before he was killed just to interview this public exhibition of famous paintings. Is it possible that he discovered Nori Ichinose's painting?" The work is a fake and it needs to be reported, so Tatsuo Uchii is determined to do whatever he wants, so he might as well just let him..."

At this point, she moved her little hands down with murderous intent, her expression a little ferocious, it was enough to arrest the murderer directly, and Takeshi Nanahara did not deny her reasonable guess, touched his chin and said: "It is indeed a good killing. Motive, but as far as I know Yuuto Matsunai, he is just messing around as an art columnist. If a fake can fool professional art dealers and appraisers, I don’t think he has the professional level to distinguish it. .”

Well, this is correct. There is no reason why Yuuto Matsuchi's professional level can be better than that of a professional appraiser. Otherwise, he would just become an art appraiser. He would definitely have a better future than being an art columnist.

Qingmi Ruri held her breath, and they chatted all the way, and arrived at the office area of ​​Shochiku Drum Museum. Nakano Eri stopped a staff member and asked, and easily found Tatsuo Uchii's office.

…………

Uchii Tatsuo's office is not very big, but the tables, chairs and cabinets are arranged cleverly and harmoniously, making it very comfortable to look at. Three beast specimens, namely a deer head, a boar head and a goat head, are hung side by side on the wall for display. The room owner's prowess and hunting skills.

But Tatsuo Uchii does not look strong, he is thin, his face is weathered, he has many wrinkles, he looks older, but he is still small, and there is a faint energy in the way he raises his hands and feet. No one dares to despise it at all.

He had no idea that the police came to the door with a high school counselor and a JK, and received them with a smile. He also had no special reaction when talking about the murder of Matsunai Yuuto, which was the same answer he gave when the police came to ask him before. basically consistent.

The public exhibition is a major art event in Hirano. Yuuto Matsuuchi specially came to interview to get some inside information about the public exhibition, the source of the paintings, etc. that readers are interested in. This is good publicity, and Tatsuo Uchii also received him warmly. After meeting him, the two parties had a great conversation, and even took him to a dinner party for art museum staff, where they all had a few drinks together.

Qingmi Ruri asked for a while but didn't find any problem. After thinking about it, she stared at Tatsuo Uchii's face and said tentatively: "Uchii-san, the most valuable painting in the public exhibition at that time was Ichinose Nori's painting. Well, Sonnes-san will definitely pay close attention to this painting, is it convenient for us to go and take a look?"

She hadn't completely given up her guess. If Yuuto Matsuuchi could tell that it was a fake, Takeshi Nanahara would also be able to tell, and maybe he could identify the murderer directly. But as soon as she finished speaking, Tatsuo Uchii said... He stood up and came back with a promotional leaflet, and said with a smile: "Not one, but four. These are the most proud works of Mr. Ichinose's creative career, so I designated this set of works as the main exhibit of the public exhibition."

Takeshi Nanahara directly reached out and took it. He glanced at the color printed photo and raised his eyebrows. "It turns out to be these four paintings. No wonder they said they have been rediscovered. These four paintings have indeed been missing for a long time."

Uchii Tatsuo glanced at him in surprise, sat back and said with a smile: "Yes, it is the "Okinoshima Four Scrolls" that was lost when Edo was founded. It is indeed a blessing to see the light of day again."

Takeshi Nanabahara looked at the photo carefully, nodded slightly and said, "It makes sense that Nori Ichinose's paintings suddenly appeared in Hirano." Then he raised his head with interest and asked, "It seems that it's Uchii-san." I picked it up and missed it, can you tell me how you picked it up?"

Uchii Tatsuo smiled and said nothing, obviously not wanting to say anything, and Nanahara Takeshi didn't care, and lowered his head to look at the photo.

Qingmi Ruri had just looked with him a few times and found that these four paintings were in the form of long scrolls. They seemed to depict the four seasons of Okinoshima and the lifestyle of local residents. There was a bit of sky in the paintings, and even one of them was The night sky seemed very suspicious, but she had learned a lesson in Deji's studio and no longer made a fuss. She just pointed at one of the paintings and said in confusion: "Is this scroll cracked? The painting seems to be missing a corner, and it seems... Have you soaked in water?"

The smile on Uchii Tatsuo's face disappeared and he sighed: "Living among the people, it has been buried in a pile of debris in a family's warehouse. The storage conditions are so poor that it was already damaged when I found it, and I haven't found it yet. People who are sure that the restoration will be 100% perfect don’t dare to do it easily, so they can only display it like this.”

After a pause, he clarified the title of the final work of his auction, "But even if it is slightly damaged, it will not affect its artistic value."

Qingjian Liuli didn't understand the value of art. Looking at the photo, he felt it wasn't very clear. He hesitated and asked, "Can't we go see the original painting? Just look at the photo..."

"I am happy to cooperate with the police. If you think it is necessary, of course I can, but can you do it tomorrow?" Uchii Tatsuo did not refuse. "This painting does not completely belong to the art museum. My ability is limited and I paid a huge sum of money for the purchase." The payment has been made, and the painting is now in the safe and will not be taken out again until the auction. To see the original painting, I and the bank representative need to be present at the same time to prevent unnecessary disputes."

"Okay." Qingjian Liuli felt that their request was reasonable. It was true that they came too late.

Uchii Tatsuo glanced at his watch, looked at them and asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

Qingjian Liuli said quickly: "I still need to know your whereabouts that night."

Tatsuo Uchii was really cooperative. He stood up, picked up the phone, dialed the number and said, "No problem, but I've been busy with the auction recently. I have an appointment with someone for dinner tonight. The time for the appointment is almost here. If I don't If you mind, I’ll let Heitate-kun talk to you, I’ll be with him that night.”

He has been very cooperative, without the slightest hint of impatience. Compared with the old pervert Tokki, he is simply a representative of the five good citizens. Naturally, Takeshi Nanahara and his party cannot have any objections and can only leave.

Tatsuo Uchii walked them to the door politely and said, "I'm also very sorry for Matsune-san's murder. If there is anything else I need to do, please call me at any time."

"Okay, thank you." After communicating for a while, Qingmi Ruri and Nakano Eri both had a good impression of him and thanked him in unison. Nanabahara Taketo walked out of the door first, then came back and asked with a smile: "I almost forgot. Well, Uchii-san, if you were asked to use an animal to describe Matsuuchi-san, what animal do you think it would be?"

Tatsuo Uchii was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "Probably it will be a mountain whale, um... yes, Matsuuchi-san is very serious about his work and very motivated, like a mountain whale."