Float and the World Floats With You

These are wood block prints by the early 19th century Japanese artist Hiroshige

By Dan Hagen

“We live only for the moment, in which we admire the splendor of the moonlight, the snow, the cherry blossom and the colors of the maple leaves. We enjoy the day, warmed by wine, without allowing the poverty that stares us in the face to restore our sobriety. In this drifting — like a pumpkin carried along by the current of the river — we do not allow ourselves to be discouraged for a moment. This is what is called the floating, fleeting world.”
Somehow seems an appropriate quote for New Year’s Eve 2012. It’s from a 1661 story by Asai Ryoi, and is associated with Japanese ukiyo-e or “floating world” art. That genre reflected the fresh, fleeting pleasures appreciated by a newly emerging Japanese middle class, and immortalized them.