Aoki Mokubei (1767-1833). Gō (art names): Hyakuroku Sanjin, Kokikan, Kukurin, Mokubei, Rōbei, Teiunrō. A nanga (literati painting) painter, potter, calligrapher and scholar, he is also considered the reviver of Kyoto ceramics. Born in Kyoto the son of a restaurant owner, he studied pottery under Okuda Eisen (1753-1811) and was influenced by the Chinese paintings of the Ming and Ch’ing dynasties as well as by Ike no Taiga (1723–1776).

After reading Tōsetsu (Ceramics Explained), a Chinese treatise of 6 chapters on the history of Chinese ceramics written in 1774 by Chu Yen, he decided to specialise in this art form gaining great recognition and fame during his own lifetime.

In 1801 he worked for the Lord of Kii as a potter and then in 1807 joined the service of the Lord of Kaga, where he opened the Kasugayama kiln. In 1806 Mokubei visited the Kutani kilns spurring the potters on to do better work. In 1808 he was called into the service of Prince Shoren’in no Miya who sponsored the founding of a kiln in Awata, Kyoto where he began to work as an imperial ceramic master.

His ceramics are rich in elements associated with the literati, China, and the sencha tea ceremony leading him to produce numerous teapots, freely potted stoneware tea bowls and cooling hearths. Mokubei mastered both Chinese and Japanese ceramic techniques such as iroe (polychrome over glaze enamels), sancai (Chinese three-colour ware), sometsuke (underglaze blue), seiji (celadon), K’ang-hsi famille noire and the so called kōchi ware (polychrome). He also made Korean and Japanese style pieces which were popular among matcha devotees.

The sheer range of Mokubei’s work attracted many clients and influential patrons even though he was known for his low rate of production. It is said that clients and dealers paid large sums for his work and yet often had to wait years for their order to be completed.