(b Kyoto, 1767; d Kyoto, 1833). Japanese potter, painter and scholar. He was born into the Kiya family of restaurateurs and adopted the surname Aoki only after becoming a painter. Mokubei, one of his many artist’s names, was created by combining the Chinese characters for ‘tree’ and ‘rice’ (a character anagram of his given name Yasohachi). His most familiar studio name (go), Robei (‘deaf [Moku]bei’), dates from the time when he had become deaf from the clangour of his ceramic kilns. Despite his plebeian origins, he gravitated at a young age towards the arts and Chinese philosophy and poetry. At 18 he became a pupil of KO FUYO, from whom he learnt seal-carving, epigraphy, literati painting (Nanga or Bunjinga; see JAPAN, §VI, 4(vi)(d)), Confucianism and the arts and crafts of China. His first acquaintance with pottery also came through Fuyo, who owned a large collection of Chinese ceramics. After studying with Fuyo, he is said to have gone to Ise (now Mie Prefect.) to take up metalwork, and he later tried his hand at sculpture, but he was successful at neither. In 1796 he began to make pottery and in the same year submitted a landscape painting to an exhibition.

• Aoki Mokubei
  • Japan, §VIII, 3(i)(e): Glazed ceramics: 18th century–1868
  • Japan, §XVI, 17(i)(c): Netsuke: Types and makers
  • Kimura Kenkado
  • Kyoto, §III, 2: Centre of ceramics production, late 17th century–1868
  • Nonomura Ninsei
  • Osaka, §I, 3(ii)(d): Art life, late 15th century and after
  • works
    • Japan, §VI, 4(vi)(d): Late foreign-influenced painting: Nanga
    • Kutani