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The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 9039 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; oban.
    The actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Osan, Ippei’s elder sisterTōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of hand-colored woodblock print; tan-e, vertical o-oban.
    Courtesan WalkingKaigetsudo Anchi, c. 1714Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of woodblock print in black ink and watercolor on cream japanese paper.
    The Priest Kobo Daishi at the Tama River in Kii Province from the series The Six Tama RiversTorii Kiyomasu, c. 1725-1735Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. A Girl Writing a Letter, by Suzuki Harunobu, 18th century
    A Girl Writing a LetterSuzuki Harunobu, 18th centuryCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Boating Party on the Sumida River, by Torii Kiyonaga, 1789
    Boating Party on the Sumida RiverTorii Kiyonaga, 1789Courtesy of the Cleveland 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 hand-colored woodblock print; toku-oban, urushi-e.
    Courtesan Reading a LetterIshikawa Toyonobu, c. 1745Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. France (furansukoku), by Utagawa Yoshitora, 2nd month, 1865
    France (furansukoku)Utagawa Yoshitora, 2nd month, 1865Courtesy 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 2, north wall

  1. Incense Boxes with a Wrapping Cloth, by Kubo Shunman, 1808
    Incense Boxes with a Wrapping ClothKubo Shunman, 1808Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. England (Igirisukoku), by Utagawa Yoshitora, 2nd month, 1865
    England (Igirisukoku)Utagawa Yoshitora, 2nd month, 1865Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Three Kabuki Actors Playing Hanetsuki, by Utagawa Kuniyasu, ca. 1823
    Three Kabuki Actors Playing HanetsukiUtagawa Kuniyasu, ca. 1823Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. 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
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    Delaying the announcement of dawnSuzuki Harunobu, c. 1767/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print.
    Tsuten-kyo Bridge, Tofuku Temple, Kyoto (Kyoto Tofukuji Tsutenkyo bashi) from the series “One Hundred Famous Views in the Various Provinces (Shokoku meisho hyakkei)”Utagawa Hiroshige II, 1859Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Evening Snow at Asuka Hill, from the series Eight Views of the Environs of Edo, by Utagawa Hiroshige, c. 1837–38
    Evening Snow at Asuka Hill, from the series Eight Views of the Environs of EdoUtagawa Hiroshige, c. 1837–38Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art