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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 7228 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. Paper Doll Clothing, 1897–98
    Paper Doll ClothingUnrecorded Japanese maker, 1897–98Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Kinryūsan Temple at Asakusa, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo", by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856
    Kinryūsan Temple at Asakusa, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo"Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856Courtesy of The Metropolitan 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 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. Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke, by Shunkōsai Hokushū, 1821
    Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as KoganosukeShunkōsai Hokushū, 1821Courtesy 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 2, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    Flower ArrangingKitao Shigemasa, c. 1769Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Kametani Jujiro as the Shirabyoshi Dancer Yuya, by Torii Kiyomitsu, c. early 1760s
    Kametani Jujiro as the Shirabyoshi Dancer YuyaTorii Kiyomitsu, c. early 1760sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Shimosuwa, from Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaidō, by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1835–38
    Shimosuwa, from Sixty-Nine Stations of the KisokaidōUtagawa Hiroshige, 1835–38Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; hosoban.
    Actor Nakamura Nakazô I as Osada no Tarô in The Genji Clan Now at Its Zenith (Ima o sakari suehiro Genji)Katsukawa Shunshō, About 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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. A work made of color woodblock print; chūban.
    Searching for FirefliesSuzuki Harunobu, 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, north wall

  1. Dyers at Work, by Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1800
    Dyers at WorkKatsushika Hokusai, c. 1800Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Girl on Balcony above Stone Stairway, by Suzuki Harunobu, ca. 1768
    Girl on Balcony above Stone StairwaySuzuki Harunobu, ca. 1768Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. The Shika Teahouse, by Utagawa Toyokuni, early 1790s
    The Shika TeahouseUtagawa Toyokuni, early 1790sCourtesy 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