Floor plan

North wing: East AsiaThe Floating World

The Floating World

Yōrō Waterfall in Mino Province (Mino no Yōrō no taki), from the series A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri), by Katsushika Hokusai, ca. 1832
Russians Enjoying a Holiday in Yokohama (Yokohama kyūjitsu Roshiajin yūkō), by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1861
Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga no Gorō, by Katsukawa Shunkō, 1779
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.
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
A work made of color woodblock print; oban.

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. Yōrō Waterfall in Mino Province (Mino no Yōrō no taki), from the series A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri), by Katsushika Hokusai, ca. 1832
    Yōrō Waterfall in Mino Province (Mino no Yōrō no taki), from the series A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri)Katsushika Hokusai, ca. 1832Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Russians Enjoying a Holiday in Yokohama (Yokohama kyūjitsu Roshiajin yūkō), by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1861
    Russians Enjoying a Holiday in Yokohama (Yokohama kyūjitsu Roshiajin yūkō)Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga no Gorō, by Katsukawa Shunkō, 1779
    Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga no GorōKatsukawa Shunkō, 1779Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 1, 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. 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
  3. 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 2, south wall

  1. “America”: Enjoying Hot Air Balloons, by Utagawa Yoshitora, 1867
    “America”: Enjoying Hot Air BalloonsUtagawa Yoshitora, 1867Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; surimono.
    PeoniesKitagawa Utamaro, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, north wall

  1. Danjūrō VII's Benkei as Fudō Myōō, by Utagawa Kunisada, ca. 1824
    Danjūrō VII's Benkei as Fudō MyōōUtagawa Kunisada, ca. 1824Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    The Poetess Ono no KomachiSuzuki Harunobu, Edo period (1615–1868), 1767/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Dyers at Work, by Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1800
    Dyers at WorkKatsushika Hokusai, c. 1800Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. 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
  2. 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

Section 3, south wall

  1. 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
  2. The Actor Morita Kanya VIII as Tatsugorō, by Katsukawa Shun'ei, 1794 (Kansei 6)
    The Actor Morita Kanya VIII as TatsugorōKatsukawa Shun'ei, 1794 (Kansei 6)Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  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