Ochre Editions
SearchSign inCart (0)

The Floating World

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

172 works · hang 9601 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse, by Katsushika Hokusai, 1835–36
    Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the NurseKatsushika Hokusai, 1835–36Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a Ronin, by Tōshūsai Sharaku
    The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a RoninTōshūsai SharakuCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. “Hour of the Rat: Mistress,” from the series Women’s Daily Customs (Fuzoku bijin tokei), by Kitagawa Utamaro, 1790
    “Hour of the Rat: Mistress,” from the series Women’s Daily Customs (Fuzoku bijin tokei)Kitagawa Utamaro, 1790Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. Tea House Beside the Kamo River in Kyoto, by Nishimura Shigenaga (Japanese, 1697(?)-1756), 1740s
    Tea House Beside the Kamo River in KyotoNishimura Shigenaga (Japanese, 1697(?)-1756), 1740sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of hand-colored woodblock print; vertical oban diptych, sumizuri-e.
    The Actor Onoe Kikugoro I holding a puppet of the Actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu IIshikawa Toyonobu, c. 1740sCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of color woodblock print; ōban.
    Awa Province: Naruto Whirlpools (Awa, Naruto no fūha), from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshmeisho zue)Utagawa Hiroshige, 1855Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south 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. A work made of color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban.
    Woman About to Write a PoemYashima Gakutei, c. 1824Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. The Shika Teahouse, by Utagawa Toyokuni, early 1790s
    The Shika TeahouseUtagawa Toyokuni, early 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. Dyers at Work, by Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1800
    Dyers at WorkKatsushika Hokusai, c. 1800Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. 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 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. 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
  3. 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

Section 3, south wall

  1. A work made of color woodblock print; chūban.
    Searching for FirefliesSuzuki Harunobu, 1768Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of color woodblock print; chuban.
    Giving a Light by the Garyubai Plum TreeSuzuki Harunobu, c. 1767/68Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago