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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 8911 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north 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. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    Lake Suwa in Shinano Province (Shinshu Suwako), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A color woodblock print of a large crashing wave, looms over two narrow boats full of people. Mt Fuji in the background. There is a faint peach colored sky.
    Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"Katsushika Hokusai, 1830/33Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
    Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaido (Kisoji no oku Amidagataki), from the series "A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri)"Katsushika Hokusai, About 1833Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of woodblock print; sumizuri-e, kakemono-e.
    Standing BeautyKaigetsudo Anchi, About 1714Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Numazu Ki Kure, by Utagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1834
    Numazu Ki KureUtagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1834Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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 Courtesan, by Kitagawa Utamaro
    A CourtesanKitagawa UtamaroCourtesy 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. Boating Party on the Sumida River, by Torii Kiyonaga, 1789
    Boating Party on the Sumida RiverTorii Kiyonaga, 1789Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Scene from a Play, by Katsukawa Shunjō, ca. 1780
    Scene from a PlayKatsukawa Shunjō, ca. 1780Courtesy of The Metropolitan 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 3, north wall

  1. Segawa Tomisaburō II as Yadorigi in the Play "Hana Ayame Bunroku Soga", by Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794
    Segawa Tomisaburō II as Yadorigi in the Play "Hana Ayame Bunroku Soga"Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono.
    Distant View of Mount Fuji at Dawn from HakoneUtagawa Kuniyoshi, c. 1828/30Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, south 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. 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