The Floating World






Works in this room
Japanese woodblock prints of the floating world: actors, courtesans, landscapes and the sea.
Section 1, north wall

Numazu Ki KureUtagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1834Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
Tobacco Pouch and PipeKubo Shunman, 1813Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
Sei Shonagon, from the series Ancient Patterns (Kodai moyo)Kobayashi Kiyochika, Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Section 1, south wall

A Spring OutingSuzuki Harunobu, c. 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago 
A View of the Large New Room at SakuraiUtagawa Kunisada, early or mid 1830sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art 
Iris GardenKatsukawa Shunchô, c. 1781/89Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Section 2, south wall

Girl on Balcony above Stone StairwaySuzuki Harunobu, ca. 1768Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
Fireworks at Ryōgoku (Ryōgoku hanabi), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)Utagawa Hiroshige, 1858Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago 
Courtesan WalkingKaigetsudo Anchi, c. 1714Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Section 2, north wall

Morning Cherries at YoshiwaraUtagawa HiroshigeCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
Chushingura: Act I (from the series Perspective Pictures for The Treasure House of Loyalty)Kitao Masayoshi, c. 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art 
The Shika TeahouseUtagawa Toyokuni, early 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
Section 3, north wall

Segawa Tomisaburō II as Yadorigi in the Play "Hana Ayame Bunroku Soga"Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
Foreigners Enjoying a Party (Gaikokujin yūkyō no zu)Utagawa Yoshitora, 1st month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Section 3, south wall

Plate from the Erotic Book Mounds of Dyed Colors: A Pattern Book for the Boudoir (Someiro no yama neya no hinagata), First MonthOkumura Masanobu, ca. 1736–44Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 
French Woman and Girl, from the series Foreign Merchants in Yokohama (Yokohama shōka ijin no zu)Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide, 1st month, 1861Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art