Vase with an Urban Beauty

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the seventeenth century, as cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto flourished, a new ideal of feminine beauty arose, featuring the beautiful and elegantly dressed women of the “floating world”—a euphemism for the pleasure quarters, which were also known for their theater and puppetry.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art