The Okada Museum of Art in Japan is parting with 125 works from its collection to help its founder, Kazuo Okada, settle a $50 million legal bill arising from his long-running feud with casino tycoon Steve Wynn.

The 83-year-old billionaire, best known as the former chairman of Universal Entertainment Corp., is selling the artworks through Sotheby’s Hong Kong, which will auction the collection on November 22.

Masterpieces Headed to Auction

Among the treasures hitting the block are Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa (1830–32), a Qianlong “Eight Treasures” vase, and a pair of 16th-century six-panel screens by Kano Motonobu from Japan’s Muromachi period. Several pieces are expected to fetch prices in the multimillion-dollar range.

“This is possibly among the finest such collections,” said Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s Asia chairman and worldwide head of Asian art, in an interview with The New York Times. “What we have is basically 3,000 years of some of the greatest ceramics, craft, and paintings across China, Japan, and Korea.”

A Costly Feud with Steve Wynn

Okada’s decision to sell comes after a protracted dispute with Steve Wynn, the founder of Wynn Resorts. The two had once been partners, co-founding the Las Vegas-based casino group in 2002. But the relationship soured over mutual allegations of improper payments to public officials in Asia.

In 2012, Wynn Resorts ousted Okada as vice-chairman and forcibly redeemed Universal Entertainment’s 20 percent stake at a steep discount. Okada fought the move in court and ultimately prevailed in 2018, with Wynn and Wynn Resorts agreeing to pay $2.6 billion in an out-of-court settlement.

However, after the victory, Okada was hit with a $50 million legal fee from his attorneys at Bartlit Beck, which he disputed. The firm successfully pursued the payment through binding arbitration—forcing Okada to liquidate assets to cover the amount.

Court-Appointed Sale and Museum Silence

According to The New York Times, the sale was ordered by court-appointed receivers overseeing Okada Fine Art Limited, and the works have been consigned to Sotheby’s “by an agent of the court” under Hong Kong court orders.

The Okada Museum of Art, located in the forested region of Hakone, west of Tokyo in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, opened in 2013. Built with the help of Kochukyo Co., a leading Japanese art dealership founded by the late antique dealer Hirota Matsushige, the museum’s collection spans 3,000 years of Asian art.

When contacted by ARTnews, the museum declined to clarify which works would be sold, stating only:

“The museum does not comment on the status of artwork which is not at the museum.”