The Cartan connection: sketches for a portrait of Kentaro Yano

We are describing the historical context in which Kentaro Yano prepared his doctoral dissertation under Élie Cartan’s coordination, and how this work was published in Romania, with Analele  Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii “Al. I. Cuza”. We describe some of the many encounters made possible by Élie Cartan’s extraordinary creative contributions, which lead to a series of important collaborations, some of them of lasting impact until today.