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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 2194 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. Plate from the Erotic Book Mounds of Dyed Colors: A Pattern Book for the Boudoir (Someiro no yama neya no hinagata), First Month, by Okumura Masanobu, ca. 1736–44
    Plate from the Erotic Book Mounds of Dyed Colors: A Pattern Book for the Boudoir (Someiro no yama neya no hinagata), First MonthOkumura Masanobu, ca. 1736–44Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Women Grating Radish for Sashimi, by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99
    Women Grating Radish for SashimiKitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. Chushingura: Act I (from the series Perspective Pictures for The Treasure House of Loyalty), by Kitao Masayoshi, c. 1790s
    Chushingura: Act I (from the series Perspective Pictures for The Treasure House of Loyalty)Kitao Masayoshi, c. 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Foreign Family with Wife Making Clothes (Gaikokujin ifuku shitate no zu), by Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1860
    Foreign Family with Wife Making Clothes (Gaikokujin ifuku shitate no zu)Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1860Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. Illustration of a Balloon Ascending (Fūsen shōyō no zu), by Utagawa Yoshitora, November, 1872
    Illustration of a Balloon Ascending (Fūsen shōyō no zu)Utagawa Yoshitora, November, 1872Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  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, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Snowy Morning from Koishikawa (Koishikawa yuki no ashita), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Dutch Woman and Child (Seisha ikoku jinbutsu Oranda fujin aijidō no zu), by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1860
    Dutch Woman and Child (Seisha ikoku jinbutsu Oranda fujin aijidō no zu)Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1860Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Women Beside a Stream Chasing Fireflies, by Chôbunsai Eishi, c. 1796–97
    Women Beside a Stream Chasing FirefliesChôbunsai Eishi, c. 1796–97Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Fireworks at Ryōgoku (Ryōgoku hanabi), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)Utagawa Hiroshige, 1858Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A View of the Large New Room at Sakurai, by Utagawa Kunisada, early or mid 1830s
    A View of the Large New Room at SakuraiUtagawa Kunisada, early or mid 1830sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Girl on Balcony above Stone Stairway, by Suzuki Harunobu, ca. 1768
    Girl on Balcony above Stone StairwaySuzuki Harunobu, ca. 1768Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. A work made of page from a color woodblock-printed volume.
    The Poetess Shunzei no Musume, from the series The Thirty-six Immortal Women Poets (Nishikizuri onna sanjurokkasen)Chôbunsai Eishi, Edo period (1615–1868), 1801Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Dyers at Work, by Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1800
    Dyers at WorkKatsushika Hokusai, c. 1800Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 4, south wall

  1. Incense Boxes with a Wrapping Cloth, by Kubo Shunman, 1808
    Incense Boxes with a Wrapping ClothKubo Shunman, 1808Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    The Dance of the Shrine Maidens Ohatsu and OnamiSuzuki Harunobu, c. 1769Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago