＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<Update: February 9, 2021> Counterfeit Prints by Hirayama Ikuo, Higashiyama Kaii, and Kataoka Tamako Circulation Scandal
News reports have surfaced that a large number of counterfeit prints based on the works of Japanese painting masters Hirayama Ikuo, Higashiyama Kaii, and Kataoka Tamako are being circulated.
Apparently, an art dealer running a gallery in Umeda, Osaka, had been commissioning these prints at a studio in Nara Prefecture for approximately eight years. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department conducted a search of the relevant parties on suspicion of copyright law violations and seized several prints believed to be counterfeits.
The counterfeits confirmed include 10 works, including Hirayama Ikuo’s “Ryusa Choyo” (Morning Sun with Flowing Sand), Higashiyama Kaii’s “Kusa Aomu” (Green Grass), and Kataoka Tamako’s “Fuji with Cherry Blossoms.”
Prints are created by artisans based on original artwork and are sold in limited quantities with permission from the artist or their family.
They were also sold at Sogo and Seibu department stores, with approximately 800 pieces in circulation. This is a counterfeiting scandal comparable to the Kitaoji Rosanjin counterfeiting scandal of 1964.
1. “Good Luck! Anything Appraisals”
I used to love and watch “Good Luck! Anything Appraisals,” a TV Tokyo (TV Osaka) program featuring appraisals of antiques, paintings, and other items, hosted by Shinsuke Shimada.
The show currently continues with Koji Imada and Akira Fukuzawa as hosts.
The person who made the “Karakusa Antique Shop Owner,” Mr. Seinosuke Nakajima, an expert on pottery and tea ceremony utensils, especially old Imari porcelain, made the biggest impression on me.
His catchphrase for valuable authentic items was, “The person who created this piece must have done a valuable job,” and his closing comment for less valuable items, “Please take good care of it,” were particularly memorable.
I also found it amusing, though unfortunate, to see the confident amateur antiques enthusiasts who appeared on the show be shocked when their items were appraised as “fakes.” I think the shock of being labelled a fake after the “expert talk” before the appraisal was particularly unimaginable, but it was interesting to see how each person’s reaction was different.
Other appraisers who made a lasting impression on me were Kitahara Teruhisa, director of the Tin Toy Museum, who specializes in retro toys, especially tin toys, and Tanaka Dai, president of Shibunkaku, a company specializing in Japanese paintings and ancient documents.
Kitahara Teruhisa gave the impression of “still retaining the heart of a boy,” a true tin toy enthusiast. Tanaka Dai was once known as the “Handkerchief Prince of Kyoto” because he would always hold his mouth with a handkerchief when appraising hanging scrolls and other items.
Shibunkaku in Kyoto is a major, well-known buyer and seller of fine art and antique books. When I built my new house, I went to Kyoto to buy a hanging scroll, but I didn’t know where to buy one, so I visited an art dealer on Shijo Street, who introduced me to Shibunkaku.
2. Are appraisers’ appraisals absolutely correct?
Nakajima Seinosuke has been working as an antiques dealer since 1960, giving him a career spanning roughly 40 years.
However, it’s impossible to say for sure whether his appraisals are absolutely correct. This is because, when it comes to ancient works of art, there is no objective way to “verify” their authenticity other than relying on the opinion of an expert.
There was a time when potter Nagae Sokichi IX raised an objection, claiming that a “Yohen Tenmoku tea bowl” that Nakajima Seinosuke had appraised as “definitely genuine” and worth 25 million yen might actually be a fake, which caused quite a stir.
I don’t think Nakajima Seinosuke is that kind of person, but the many unreliable antique dealers out there are like con artists, who often sell items at high prices, calling them “bargains,” even though they themselves know they are fakes.
On the other hand, there are also cases where dealers resort to “forced buying” to appraise valuable genuine items as fakes, buy them cheaply, and then sell them at a higher price to another customer.
Antique lovers need to be extremely vigilant.
3. The “Le Gros Incident” in which even experts were fooled
In 1964, the National Museum of Western Art purchased Derain’s “London Bridge” for 22.32 million yen and Dufy’s “Bay of Anges” for 2.28 million yen. The following year, it purchased Modigliani’s “Female Face” for 1.29 million yen.
However, rumors that the works were forgeries emerged, and the museum was investigated in the Diet. As a result, in 1971, the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the National Museum of Western Art announced that “there is doubt that all three works are authentic, and they will no longer be exhibited.”
The perpetrator of this crime was an art dealer named Fernand Legros, who conspired with counterfeiter Émile de Haury to sell fake modern paintings to museums and collectors around the world.
By the time an international arrest warrant was issued in 1967, he had apparently distributed over 500 counterfeits around the world by skillfully combining false appraisal certificates with genuine certificates.
In this counterfeiting case, then-director Tominaga Soichi was skeptical of the authenticity of the works, but when he asked the artist’s widow and others to “confirm the appraisal,” they replied, “There is absolutely no room for doubt,” and when he showed the two paintings to André Malraux, the French Minister of Culture who was visiting Japan at the time, he said, “These works are of exceptional quality. I am astonished that the French art world silently watched these slip out of the country.” This led to his complete trust.
However, it is highly questionable whether André Malraux, a writer and politician, had any “eye for discerning art,” and it may have been mere lip service. However, the people at the National Museum of Western Art, which was supposed to be a group of experts, were completely fooled.
It should be noted that there are apparently many more cases of counterfeiting modern paintings and prints. If you are a collector of modern paintings or prints, please be very careful.
If you are purchasing, we recommend that you always buy from a ”reputable art dealer” or a ”reputable store” such as a department store.
4. The “Kitaoji Rosanjin Counterfeit Incident”: Even Department Stores Were Fooled
However, there have been cases where buying from a department store doesn’t guarantee safety.
In 1964, the “Rosanjin Ceramics, Calligraphy, and Paintings Posthumous Exhibition” was held at Shirokiya in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. It was a huge success, with 108 pieces sold, but afterward, concerns grew that the works were “fakes.” Shocked by this, Shirokiya announced that it would hold an appraisal session with three experts to clarify their authenticity and buy back the counterfeits. The appraisal results determined that 90% of the calligraphy and paintings were fakes, and 20%-30% of the ceramics were fakes.
5. Top Counterfeits
It’s well known that there are many counterfeits among antiques and paintings, but the following artists and works are particularly prone to forgery.
Painters include Tani Buncho, Maruyama Okyo, Kano Tan’yu, Ito Shinsui, Yokoyama Taikan, Togo Seiji, and Kusama Yayoi; ceramic artists include Nonomura Ninsei; and artworks include Tang Sancai.
Maruyama Okyo’s hanging scrolls and screens were featured on the TV show “Kaiun! Nandemo Kanteidan,” but it seemed like over 95% of them were fakes. When I was watching, there was one episode where Shibunkaku’s President Tanaka appraised a piece and said, “There are so many counterfeits of Maruyama Okyo’s work, but this one is an authentic work.” He said it with a “miraculous” vibe, which really showed how many counterfeits there are.
Antique lovers and art collectors, please be extremely careful not to be fooled by unscrupulous antique shops or art dealers and lose your money.