On the night of 17–18 October 1984, three criminals broke into the municipal museum in Semur-en-Auxois, which was not fitted with an alarm system. The joint investigation by the French and Japanese police revealed links between the Parisian underworld and the Japanese Yakuza mafia. Indeed, Shinchi Fujikuma, a Japanese gangster, had met two members of the Aubervilliers gang, Philippe-Emile Jamin and Youssef Khimoun, whilst serving time in a French prison. In 1987, the French managed to return from Japan with four of the five stolen paintings. The last one, *The Portrait of Mrs Baudot*, remained with its new owner, in accordance with the principle of ‘good faith’ guaranteed by Japanese law.