Mirror of Hands of Ancient Calligraphy (Kohitsu tekagami) 1651
torian
minneapolisinstituteofart
ink, color-on-paper
aged paper
book binding
paper non-digital material
book
sketch book
paper texture
japan
personal sketchbook
ink
color-on-paper
journal
sketchbook drawing
storyboard and sketchbook work
sketchbook art
"Mirror of Hands of Ancient Calligraphy" (Kohitsu tekagami) is a 1651 Japanese calligraphy manual by Tō Rian that showcases various styles of brushstrokes and characters. The text provides a visual guide for aspiring calligraphers, demonstrating the intricacies of this traditional art form. The book's pages are filled with meticulous examples of different writing styles, offering a glimpse into the historical development of Japanese calligraphy. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history and practice of this art form.
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In Japanese society, poetry was important not just for the beauty of its sound, but also for the beauty of its written form. Mirror of Hands is an example of a tekagami (“mirror of hands”); it is a collection of 136 fragments (kire) and 616 strips (tanzaku) written by different hands, all reproduced in print. The colophon, which provides information about the circumstances of publication, notes that the recorded works have been authenticated by an expert, and modern scholars have noted that some extant pieces look remarkably similar to the copy in the book. A woodblock-printed tekagami allowed people who could not afford to buy coveted pieces by the most famous calligraphers a means to appreciate and study their hands.
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