Floor plan

North wing: East AsiaThe Floating World

The Floating World

A work made of color woodblock print.
A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
Jihei of Kamiya Eloping with the Geisha Koharu of Kinokuniya, from the series “True Feelings Compared: The Founts of Love” (Jitsu kurabe iro no Minakami), by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99
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.
Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, by Kitagawa Utamaro, c. 1800

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

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

Section 1, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print.
    Actor Onoe Matsusuke I as Retired Emperor SutokuKatsukawa Shunkо̄, About 1780Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Snowy Morning from Koishikawa (Koishikawa yuki no ashita), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. 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

Section 1, south wall

  1. Jihei of Kamiya Eloping with the Geisha Koharu of Kinokuniya, from the series “True Feelings Compared: The Founts of Love” (Jitsu kurabe iro no Minakami), by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99
    Jihei of Kamiya Eloping with the Geisha Koharu of Kinokuniya, from the series “True Feelings Compared: The Founts of Love” (Jitsu kurabe iro no Minakami)Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  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
  3. Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, by Kitagawa Utamaro, c. 1800
    Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida RiverKitagawa Utamaro, c. 1800Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, 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. Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse, by Katsushika Hokusai, 1835–36
    Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the NurseKatsushika Hokusai, 1835–36Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
    Three Types of ChrysanthemumsKitao Shigemasa, c. 1790Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
    PeoniesKitagawa Utamaro, n.d.Courtesy 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. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The Ninth Month, from the series Five Amorous Festivals of Love (Aibore iro no gosekku)Kitagawa Utamaro, 1801Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, north wall

  1. Hara: Mount Fuji in the Morning (Hara, Asa no Fuji), from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō, by Utagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1833–34
    Hara: Mount Fuji in the Morning (Hara, Asa no Fuji), from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great TōkaidōUtagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1833–34Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Actor Segawa Tomisaburo II as the Otomos' Maid Wakakusa, Actually Prince Korehito, by Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794–75
    The Actor Segawa Tomisaburo II as the Otomos' Maid Wakakusa, Actually Prince KorehitoTōshūsai Sharaku, 1794–75Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. Perspective Pictures for The Treasure House of Loyalty, by Kitao Masayoshi, c. 1790s
    Perspective Pictures for The Treasure House of LoyaltyKitao Masayoshi, c. 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    Flower ArrangingKitao Shigemasa, c. 1769Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago