Investigations
When Art Becomes a Crime: Hasui’s Last Print
Hasui’s "Konjiki Hall at Hiraizumi" is his final work, a masterpiece completed on his deathbed. From Hasui’s diary, we have a remarkably detailed history of how this work came to be, a relatively rare thing in Shin Hanga and Ukiyo-e. But this level of detail also allows me to use this print as an example of a disappointing development in Shin Hanga collecting: the increasing presence of Fake Hasui prints.