Ukiyo
Ukiyo describes the urban lifestyle, especially the pleasure-seeking aspects, of the Edo-period Japan. The Floating World culture developed in Yoshiwara, the licensed red-light district of Edo, which was the site of many brothels frequented by Japan's growing middle class. A prominent author of the ukiyo genre was Ihara Saikaku, who wrote The Life of an Amorous Woman. The ukiyo culture also arose in other cities such as Osaka and Kyoto.
The famous Japanese woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the Floating World", had their origins in these districts and often depicted scenes of the Floating World itself such as geisha, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, samurai, chōnin, and prostitutes.
The term ukiyo is also an ironic allusion to the homophone, the earthly plane of death and rebirth from which Buddhists sought release.
In its modern usage, the term ukiyo "The Floating World" refers more to a state of being: living in the moment, being detached from the bothers of life.
