It was a stroke of marketing genius on the part of the madams and pimps of Japan’s 17th century red light district to call their digs the Floating World. Ukiyo in Japanese, the phrase came to signify not only a locale distinct from the rest of Edo, the city known today as Tokyo, but a singular state of mind. Entering the Ukiyo — technical name: Shin Yoshiwara, meaning “New Lucky Field” (the old Yoshiwara fell to the Great Fire of Mereiki) — became synonymous with a certain kind of sensual transcendence.
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For more on “Seduction,” opening Feb. 20, visit the Asian Art Museum website.
