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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 1199 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, 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. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    In The Mood for a Walk (Yuho ga shitaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1888Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or 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), or 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

Section 1, south wall

  1. 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
  2. A work made of hand-colored woodblock print; tan-e, vertical o-oban.
    Courtesan WalkingKaigetsudo Anchi, c. 1714Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The actor Ichikawa Omezo as the manservant IppeiTōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, 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. A Girl Writing a Letter, by Suzuki Harunobu, 18th century
    A Girl Writing a LetterSuzuki Harunobu, 18th centuryCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Passengers in a Ferry Boat on the Sumida River, by Torii Kiyonaga, 1784
    Passengers in a Ferry Boat on the Sumida RiverTorii Kiyonaga, 1784Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. Kanō, from the series Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō, by Utagawa Hiroshige, c. 1835–37
    Kanō, from the series Sixty-nine Stations of the KisokaidōUtagawa Hiroshige, c. 1835–37Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Three Beauties of Our Time (Tosei san bijin)Chokosai Eisho, n.d.Courtesy 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. Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin, by Tōshūsai Sharaku, Probably late 1880s or early 1890s
    Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura SadanoshinTōshūsai Sharaku, Probably late 1880s or early 1890sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
    Three Types of ChrysanthemumsKitao Shigemasa, c. 1790Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, south wall

  1. 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
  2. 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