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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 5789 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. Women Grating Radish for Sashimi, by Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99
    Women Grating Radish for SashimiKitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1798–99Courtesy 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
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
    Catching FirefliesEishosai Choki, c.1790sCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The Plum Orchard at Kamata (Kamata no umezono), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. 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
  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, south 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. A work made of color woodblock print; hosoban; triptych.
    The Actors Otani Hiroji III as Yokambei (right), Nakamura Tomijuro I as Kuzunoha (center), and Bando Mitsugoro I as Yakambei (left), in the Last Scene from the Play Shinodazuma (The Wife from Shinoda Forest), Performed as a Supplement to the Play Kikyo-zome Onna Urakata (Female Diviner in Deep Violet), at the Morita Theater from the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month, 1776Katsukawa Shunshō, c. 1776Courtesy 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 2, north wall

  1. 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
  2. Courtesans at Leisure from the series The Six Immortal Poets, by Katsukawa Shunzan, early 1780s
    Courtesans at Leisure from the series The Six Immortal PoetsKatsukawa Shunzan, early 1780sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The Actor Ichikawa Danjuro IV in a "Shibaraku" Role, Possibly from the Play Ima o Sakari Suehiro Genji (The Genji Clan Now at Its Zenith), Performed at the Nakamura Theater from the First Day of the Eleventh Month, 1768Katsukawa Shunshō, c. 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, north wall

  1. 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
  2. Foreigners Enjoying a Party (Gaikokujin yūkyō no zu), by Utagawa Yoshitora, 1st month, 1861
    Foreigners Enjoying a Party (Gaikokujin yūkyō no zu)Utagawa Yoshitora, 1st month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. Anekawa Daisuke as Ayame-no-mae, by Torii Kiyomitsu, 1760
    Anekawa Daisuke as Ayame-no-maeTorii Kiyomitsu, 1760Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Kabuki Actors Asao Yūjirō as Sano Genzaemon and Ichikawa Ebijūrō I as Miura Arajirō, in the play Keisei Sano no Funabashi, by Shunkōsai Hokushū, 1822
    Kabuki Actors Asao Yūjirō as Sano Genzaemon and Ichikawa Ebijūrō I as Miura Arajirō, in the play Keisei Sano no FunabashiShunkōsai Hokushū, 1822Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art