January 16-April 11
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Opening on Monday, January 16 in the Beinecke, this exhibition provides a glimpse of the treasures in two extraordinary collections associated with the legacy of Asakawa Kan’ichi (1873–1948), professor of history and first curator of the East Asian collections at Yale. The Japanese Manuscript Collection (1907) and Yale Association of Japan Collection (1934) include stellar examples of early printing, woodblock print publishing, and artworks, as well as an impressive array of rare historical documents. The exhibition is a tribute to Asakawa’s vision for a great Japanese library that would engage Americans in the study of Japan’s history, society, and culture. It also celebrates recent efforts by faculty, students, librarians, and conservators at Yale University and the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo to document Yale’s holdings of pre-modern Japanese books and manuscripts and bring them to the forefront in research and teaching.