Ochre Editions
SearchSign inCart (0)

The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 158 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a Ronin, by Tōshūsai Sharaku
    The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a RoninTōshūsai SharakuCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Boating Party on the Sumida River, by Torii Kiyonaga, 1789
    Boating Party on the Sumida RiverTorii Kiyonaga, 1789Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban triptych.
    Eight Modern Views of Famous Places in Tokyo of Great Japan (Dai Nippon Tokyo kaika meisho hakkei no zu)Utagawa Kunisada II (Kunimasa III, Toyokuni IV), 1875Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of color woodblock print, oban triptych.
    Sei Shonagon, from the series Ancient Patterns (Kodai moyo)Kobayashi Kiyochika, Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south wall

  1. A work made of woodblock print in black ink and watercolor on cream japanese paper.
    The Priest Kobo Daishi at the Tama River in Kii Province from the series The Six Tama RiversTorii Kiyomasu, c. 1725-1735Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of woodblock print; sumizuri-e, kakemono-e.
    Standing BeautyKaigetsudo Anchi, About 1714Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. 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

Section 2, north wall

  1. Fudō Myōō Threatening a Novice, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1885
    Fudō Myōō Threatening a NoviceTsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1885Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    The Poetess Ono no KomachiSuzuki Harunobu, Edo period (1615–1868), 1767/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Foreign Business Establishment in Yokohama (Yokohama ijin shōkan uriba no zu), by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861
    Foreign Business Establishment in Yokohama (Yokohama ijin shōkan uriba no zu)Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. Two Girls on a Veranda beside a Stream with the Moon, by Suzuki Harunobu
    Two Girls on a Veranda beside a Stream with the MoonSuzuki HarunobuCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Print showing a string of travelers with horses walking along a narrow hillside path beneath an enormous craggy beige mountain at left and an equally massive and craggy deep-blue mountain at right. A brown snow-covered peak appears between these mountains. A mass of cream-colored clouds and a river with rounded ripples fill the middle plane of the composition.
    The Back of Mount Fuji Seen from Minobu River (Minobugawa Urafuji), from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)Katsushika Hokusai, 1830-33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
    A Pine Tree and CamelliasNiwa Tokei, 1840Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; uchiwa-e.
    Iwai Kumesaburo II as the Courtesan Takao in Banzei Okuni KabukiUtagawa Kunisada, c. 1827Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 4, south wall

  1. Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin, by Tōshūsai Sharaku, Probably late 1880s or early 1890s
    Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura SadanoshinTōshūsai Sharaku, Probably late 1880s or early 1890sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; vertical oban diptych.
    Image of a Japanese Woman (Fujo Yamato sugata)Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), c. 1830/35Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago