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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 4081 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. A work made of hand-colored woodblock print; vertical oban diptych, sumizuri-e.
    The Actor Onoe Kikugoro I holding a puppet of the Actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu IIshikawa Toyonobu, c. 1740sCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
    Plum Garden at Kameido (Kameido Umeyashiki), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Osan, Ippei’s elder sisterTōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
    PeoniesKitagawa Utamaro, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Collection of Desires, Wish for Foreign Travel (Mitate Tai zukushi-yōkō ga shitai), by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, January, 1878
    Collection of Desires, Wish for Foreign Travel (Mitate Tai zukushi-yōkō ga shitai)Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, January, 1878Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A work made of hand-colored woodblock print; toku-oban, urushi-e.
    Courtesan Reading a LetterIshikawa Toyonobu, c. 1745Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south wall

  1. 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
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; hosoban.
    Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II in an Unidentified RoleKatsukawa Shunkо̄, About 1785Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Grasshopper and Iris, by Katsushika Hokusai, late 1820s
    Grasshopper and IrisKatsushika Hokusai, late 1820sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
    Awa Province: Naruto Whirlpools (Awa, Naruto no fūha), from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshmeisho zue)Utagawa Hiroshige, 1855Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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. 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 3, north wall

  1. Russians Enjoying a Holiday in Yokohama (Yokohama kyūjitsu Roshiajin yūkō), by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1861
    Russians Enjoying a Holiday in Yokohama (Yokohama kyūjitsu Roshiajin yūkō)Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Kabuki Actor Ōtani Oniji III as Yakko Edobei, by Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794
    Kabuki Actor Ōtani Oniji III as Yakko EdobeiTōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. The Shika Teahouse, by Utagawa Toyokuni, early 1790s
    The Shika TeahouseUtagawa Toyokuni, early 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Kinryūsan Temple at Asakusa, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo", by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856
    Kinryūsan Temple at Asakusa, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo"Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art