NorCal fake prints

NorCal fakes are so called after the dealer who was modifying later, usually posthumous, prints. The dealer operated in Northern California. These were usually posthumous editions published by either Yoshida Studio or Watanabe Print Co that were modified, passed off and sold as early lifetime editions. Prints by shin-hanga artists were generally the most vulnerable e.g. Hiroshi Yoshida, Toshi Yoshida, Kawase Hasui, Ohara Shoson and Tsuchiya Koitsu.

Such prints are described on the following webpages:

NorCal fakes have also appeared in thrift shops, in much older frames, which may have been an attempt to sow doubt about the age and provenance of such prints. In the absence of provenance, look for gomazuri, baren sujizuri, embossing and, in general, a much greater number of printing impressions and the more refined colour palette typical in early lifetime editions. Woodblock wear and clumsy economical printing was more typical of later editions.

Ed. A discerning collector should always date an impression first and foremost on its printing quality. Most shin-hanga prints were made in thousands - typically 2000 to 3000 - most survive and many remain in print. It has become all too common to see improbably early signatures or early seals on impressions that were made decades into a print's run - so far into the run that the original colour blocks had worn out and were recarved. Undoubtedly AI will be used in the near future to chronologically order print impressions based on their quality and signatures and seals may be largely independent/redundant when appraising an impression's value.