The main pleasure of any extensive ukiyo-e (woodblock print) exhibition, like the "Floating World" show now on at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, is the evocation of the unique civilization that underlies this particular slab of global modernity.
Among the sleek office buildings of the surrounding Marunouchi district and the retro-modernity of the museum building itself, which replicates a Western-style office building from the Meiji Era (1868-1912), this collection of woodblock prints sounds a note that still resonates with a deeper and more essential Japan.
The show presents almost 600 separate works, sourced from the collection of Fumio Saito and the Kawasaki Isago no Sato Museum, of which Saito is the director. These are presented in three separate installments, with the first batch on display until July 15, so, yes, if you want to see the entire show you will have to make three trips.
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