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, merchants, and prostitutes.

The term “ukiyo”, when written as meaning “the floating world”, is also an ironic, homophonous allusion to the earlier Buddhist term ukiyo (憂き世, “sorrowful world”), referring to the earthly plane of death and rebirth from which Buddhists sought release.[2]

In its modern usage, the term ukiyo is used to refer to a state of mind emphasising living in the moment, detached from the difficulties of life. – Wikipedia

I’ve been getting these semi-reoccurring dreams of a dreamscape. Imagine the entirety NYC that’s semi-demolished and bombed out but it’s still bustling. It’s nowhere near as populated as it originally was but there’s still people there doing commerce.

It felt like an almost idealized mixing of different aspects of NYC from different eras.

From the gritty atmosphere of the 1970s before Giuliani cleaned up the city.

To the modern hipster gentrification of the city.

The funny thing about it all is that I’ve never been to NYC.

Each block was interlaced with wrecked abandoned builds and semi-demolished businesses and buildings used as playgrounds by kids.

I remembered seeing a chic and busy 3 story coffee house (semi-demolished of course).

The city was simultaneously stylish and decayed. Wrecked yet bustling with life. Dangerous while also something that could only exist in dreams, “a floating world.”

Underlying it all was a joie de vivre.

Brothels and crackhouses situated alongside cement playgrounds and an apothecary.

As is the logic of the floating world.

There was the rawness of living in an gritty environment populated by criminals and prostitutes. Or at the very least, their presence was more front and center and seemingly tolerated as if they were a natural part of the landscape.

But it never reached the level of being confronted by brute reality.