Floor plan

North wing: East AsiaThe Floating World

The Floating World

A work made of color woodblock print; oban triptych.
Foreigners in the Drawing Room of Foreign Merchant's House in Yokohama, by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861
A color woodblock print of a large crashing wave, looms over two narrow boats full of people. Mt Fuji in the background. There is a faint peach colored sky.
Yamauba and Kintarō Playing with a Cherry, by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1795
Ōtsu, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi, Ōtsu), 1847–52

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Japanese woodblock prints of the floating world: actors, courtesans, landscapes and the sea.

Section 1, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban triptych.
    Iris GardenKatsukawa Shunchô, c. 1781/89Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Foreigners in the Drawing Room of Foreign Merchant's House in Yokohama, by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861
    Foreigners in the Drawing Room of Foreign Merchant's House in YokohamaUtagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. A color woodblock print of a large crashing wave, looms over two narrow boats full of people. Mt Fuji in the background. There is a faint peach colored sky.
    Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Yamauba and Kintarō Playing with a Cherry, by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1795
    Yamauba and Kintarō Playing with a CherryKitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1795Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Ōtsu, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi, Ōtsu), 1847–52
    Ōtsu, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi, Ōtsu)Unrecorded Japanese maker, 1847–52Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The Actor Ichikawa Danjuro IV in a "Shibaraku" Role, Possibly from the Play Ima o Sakari Suehiro Genji (The Genji Clan Now at Its Zenith), Performed at the Nakamura Theater from the First Day of the Eleventh Month, 1768Katsukawa Shunshō, c. 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
    Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaido (Kisoji no oku Amidagataki), from the series "A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri)"Katsushika Hokusai, About 1833Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Women Viewing Cherry Blossoms at Asukayama, by Katsukawa Shunchô, 1780s
    Women Viewing Cherry Blossoms at AsukayamaKatsukawa Shunchô, 1780sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban triptych.
    Picture of Men and Women from Many Countries (Bankoku danjo jinbutsu zue)Utagawa Yoshiiku, 1861Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A Girl Writing a Letter, by Suzuki Harunobu, 18th century
    A Girl Writing a LetterSuzuki Harunobu, 18th centuryCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Courting Komachi (Kayoi Komachi), from the series Seven Fashionable Figures of Ono no Komachi (Furyu nana Komachi yatushi sugata-e)Utagawa Toyokuni, Edo period (1615–1868), about 1792Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga no Gorō, by Katsukawa Shunkō, 1779
    Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga no GorōKatsukawa Shunkō, 1779Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Lake Suwa in Shinano Province (Shinshu Suwako), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, south wall

  1. American Woman Riding Side-Saddle on the Road at Honmoku, Motomura, Yokohama (America Yokohama Motomura Honmoku michi), by Utagawa Hiroshige II, 2nd month, 1861
    American Woman Riding Side-Saddle on the Road at Honmoku, Motomura, Yokohama (America Yokohama Motomura Honmoku michi)Utagawa Hiroshige II, 2nd month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Scene of Foxfire (Kitsunebi) from the Play Honchō nijūshikō, by Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu, 1898
    Scene of Foxfire (Kitsunebi) from the Play Honchō nijūshikōYōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu, 1898Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The actor Ichikawa Omezo as the manservant IppeiTōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago