{"id":857,"date":"2014-08-29T16:49:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T20:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/jshoaf\/?page_id=857"},"modified":"2026-03-19T08:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:02:50","slug":"floating-world","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/jshoaf\/japanese-dolls\/floating-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Floating World"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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The Floating World<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"Two
<a href=”https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/jshoaf\/files\/ukiyo.jpg”><\/a> Two small dolls representing refined 18th-century courtesans.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ukiyo-e, “floating world pictures”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 18th and 19th century produced in Japan an art form, Ukiyo-e<\/em><\/strong>, representing the “floating world” –an ephemeral life of pleasure and emotion, repugnant to Buddhist philosophy, but dear to the hearts of young men and essential to the economy and society of feudal Japan. This was the world of the Kabuki theater, with its favorite actors and their fans, and of the geisha (“talented persons” trained in music and dance) and the oiran<\/em> (the most admired of the whores in the brothel zones or “pleasure quarters” of the big cities), who presided over salons for elegant social intercourse as well as sexual intercourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Play dolls and baby dolls were certainly loved by the geishas and brothel-dwellers themselves, and were as fashionable as all their other pastimes. So there was interaction in the development of many kinds of dolls as children’s toys were modified to suit courtesans and vice-versa. The jointed ichimatsu play doll was originally the effigy of a Kabuki actor (he was called Ichimatsu because it means “checked,” referring to a costume he wore in an important role)–a delightful gift for a young dancer or favored mistress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

As the floating world floated away in the 20th century, doll art commemorated the beauties and beloved dramatis personae<\/em> of the Ukiyo. While earlier dolls had often represented the male roles in Kabuki, now the onnagata<\/em>, or actor portraying a woman, was more likely to be represented. The onnagata<\/em> usually perform dance solos which are the emotional core of the play, and these are the moments memorialized in the dolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Click here for another page on the Geisha and the Oiran and their relationship to the Kabuki onnagata.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Names for this type of doll include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n