‘The Floating World’ in Worcester

“Old View of the Eight-plank Bridge in Mikawa Province (Mikawa no Yatsuhashi no kozu)”, about 1833-34, (woodblock print; ink and color on paper), by Katsushika Hokusai, in the John Chandler Bancroft Collection, at the Worcester Art Museum. Its part of the show, through March 5 ,called “The Floating World: Japanese Prints from the Bancroft Collection”.

The museum says:

“This winter, travel hundreds of years through one of the most culturally abundant periods in world history. ‘The Floating World’ illustrates the beauty of everyday life through 50 Japanese woodblock prints from the museum’s collection, 48 of which are displayed for the first time. The exhibition pulls directly from WAM’s Bancroft Collection of over 3,700 Japanese prints—the first collection of its kind in the United States.

“‘The Floating World’ focuses on ukiyo-e artworks, a diverse genre created throughout Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868). Translating as ‘pictures of the floating world,’ ukiyo-e prints often depict scenes of leisure and arts regularly enjoyed by the working class during an age of great economic growth. These prints tell stories in the form of intricate tableaus portraying courtesans, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, dwellings, and landscapes. Intricate and colorful, ukiyo-e prints center themes like resilience and pride, ideas we celebrate today.’’