Reading Fragmentary Traces of the Writer’s Hand: Tekagami

Edward Kamens, professor of Japanese Studies at Yale University, considers the aesthetics of viewing and reading early modern Japanese calligraphy albums—tekagami—in which fragmentary samples of writing by notable writers are brought together for appreciation and display. Focus will be placed on the content of a tekagami in the collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.