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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 2514 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. 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 sanjūrokkei), by Katsushika Hokusai, ca. 1830–32
    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 sanjūrokkei)Katsushika Hokusai, ca. 1830–32Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  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. 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 1, south wall

  1. Kametani Jujiro as the Shirabyoshi Dancer Yuya, by Torii Kiyomitsu, c. early 1760s
    Kametani Jujiro as the Shirabyoshi Dancer YuyaTorii Kiyomitsu, c. early 1760sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Kisegawa of the Matsubaya, from the series "Comparing the Charms of Five Beauties (Gonin bijin aikyo kurabe)"Kitagawa Utamaro, c. 1795/96Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei), by Suzuki Harunobu, ca. 1766
    Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei)Suzuki Harunobu, ca. 1766Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. Kiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana Komachi, by Kitagawa Utamaro, 1790s
    Kiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana KomachiKitagawa Utamaro, 1790sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Segawa Tomisaburō II as Yadorigi in the Play "Hana Ayame Bunroku Soga", by Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794
    Segawa Tomisaburō II as Yadorigi in the Play "Hana Ayame Bunroku Soga"Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a Ronin, by Tōshūsai Sharaku
    The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a RoninTōshūsai SharakuCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. 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
  2. England (Igirisukoku), by Utagawa Yoshitora, 2nd month, 1865
    England (Igirisukoku)Utagawa Yoshitora, 2nd month, 1865Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. “Hour of the Rat: Mistress,” from the series Women’s Daily Customs (Fuzoku bijin tokei), by Kitagawa Utamaro, 1790
    “Hour of the Rat: Mistress,” from the series Women’s Daily Customs (Fuzoku bijin tokei)Kitagawa Utamaro, 1790Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. 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
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Osumi, a Tayu of the Tsuchiya in the Shinmachi Quarter in OsakaEishosai Choki, c. 1796/97Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, south wall

  1. French Woman and Girl, from the series Foreign Merchants in Yokohama (Yokohama shōka ijin no zu), by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1st month, 1861
    French Woman and Girl, from the series Foreign Merchants in Yokohama (Yokohama shōka ijin no zu)Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1st month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Three Kabuki Actors Playing Hanetsuki, by Utagawa Kuniyasu, ca. 1823
    Three Kabuki Actors Playing HanetsukiUtagawa Kuniyasu, ca. 1823Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art