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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 757 ·

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. The Shika Teahouse, by Utagawa Toyokuni, early 1790s
    The Shika TeahouseUtagawa Toyokuni, early 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke, by Shunkōsai Hokushū, 1821
    Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as KoganosukeShunkōsai Hokushū, 1821Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; hosoban.
    Actor Nakamura Nakazô I as Osada no Tarô in The Genji Clan Now at Its Zenith (Ima o sakari suehiro Genji)Katsukawa Shunshō, About 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of woodblock print, ink and colors on paper.
    Kanagawa in Musashi Province: Distant View of Yokohama (Yokohama enbo), from the series Calligraphy and Pictures for the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Shoga gojusan eki)Utagawa Yoshimori, 1982Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    Viewing the MoonSuzuki Harunobu, c. 1767/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south wall

  1. Tobacco Pouch and Pipe, by Kubo Shunman, 1813
    Tobacco Pouch and PipeKubo Shunman, 1813Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Sugatano of Sugata Ebisuya in the Morning, Hour of the Rabbit, from the series The Twelve Hours in the Pleasure Quarters, by Kikukawa Eizan, 1812
    Sugatano of Sugata Ebisuya in the Morning, Hour of the Rabbit, from the series The Twelve Hours in the Pleasure QuartersKikukawa Eizan, 1812Courtesy of the Cleveland 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, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    Two Young Women Playing Cat's CradleIsoda Koryusai, c. 1769Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Evening Snow at Asuka Hill, from the series Eight Views of the Environs of Edo, by Utagawa Hiroshige, c. 1837–38
    Evening Snow at Asuka Hill, from the series Eight Views of the Environs of EdoUtagawa Hiroshige, c. 1837–38Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. 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

Section 3, north wall

  1. Paper Doll Clothing, 1897–98
    Paper Doll ClothingUnrecorded Japanese maker, 1897–98Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. View of Futami Beach at Ise, by Shōtei Hokuju, ca. 1810–1820
    View of Futami Beach at IseShōtei Hokuju, ca. 1810–1820Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, south 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. The Monkey Bridge, by Katsushika Taito II, early 1830s
    The Monkey BridgeKatsushika Taito II, early 1830sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art