Gallery Fake

ギャラリーフェイク

317 chapters

39 volumes

1992 – present

On a wharf along Tokyo Bay sits a small art gallery called Gallery Fake. Its owner, Fujita Reiji, was once a curator at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Known as "the Professor," he was a learned curator with an extraordinary memory, sharp aesthetic sense, great skill in restoring paintings, and knowledge of multiple languages. However, due to trouble at work, Fujita was forced to leave the museum. Now he operates as an art dealer, selling paintings—both genuine and counterfeit—at exorbitant prices. His motto is: "One without aesthetic sense can't help being cheated out of his money. And, by being deceived, one may learn to distinguish the real one from the counterfeit." Yet Fujita is not a villain—he does not sell fakes merely for profit. He genuinely appreciates art and the artists who devoted their lives to creating it. At times he takes paintings from a corrupt politician who sees art only as a tool for bribery. At other times he attempts to restore damaged paintings. He often touches the lives of those he meets, and people are drawn to him despite themselves. Note: In 1996, Gallery Fake received the Shogakukan Manga Award.