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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 9277 ·

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 color woodblock print; chuban.
    Giving a Light by the Garyubai Plum TreeSuzuki Harunobu, c. 1767/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Morning Cherries at Yoshiwara, by Utagawa Hiroshige
    Morning Cherries at YoshiwaraUtagawa HiroshigeCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Evening Snow at Kanbara, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō", by Utagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1833–34
    Evening Snow at Kanbara, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō"Utagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1833–34Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban.
    Woman About to Write a PoemYashima Gakutei, c. 1824Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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
  3. 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

Section 2, south wall

  1. American Woman Riding Side-Saddle on the Road at Honmoku, Motomura, Yokohama (America Yokohama Motomura Honmoku michi), by Utagawa Hiroshige II, 2nd month, 1861
    American Woman Riding Side-Saddle on the Road at Honmoku, Motomura, Yokohama (America Yokohama Motomura Honmoku michi)Utagawa Hiroshige II, 2nd month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Foreigners in the Drawing Room of Foreign Merchant's House in Yokohama, by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861
    Foreigners in the Drawing Room of Foreign Merchant's House in YokohamaUtagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 9th month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, north 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. “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. 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. Cherry Blossoms in the Wind, by Utagawa Toyokuni, late 1790s
    Cherry Blossoms in the WindUtagawa Toyokuni, late 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji: The Surface of Lake Misaka in Kai Province, by Katsushika Hokusai, early 1830s
    Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji: The Surface of Lake Misaka in Kai ProvinceKatsushika Hokusai, early 1830sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Precincts of Kameido Tenjin Shrine (Kameido Tenjin keidai), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 4, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Lake Suwa in Shinano Province (Shinshu Suwako), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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