Aoki Mokubei (1767–1833) – Edo-Period Painter and Kyoto Ware Ceramic Master
Aoki Mokubei was a prominent ceramic artist and painter born in Kyoto during the Edo period. He is widely regarded as one of the great masters of Kyoto ware (Kyō-yaki).
Gifted in both scholarship and the arts from a young age, Mokubei studied calligraphy under Kō Fuyō (1736–1802) and developed a strong appreciation for classical Chinese antiques. At the age of 29, he encountered a Chinese treatise on ceramics, Tōsetsu by Shu Katei, in the library of the Osaka scholar Kimura Kenkadō, which deeply inspired him to pursue pottery. He was so moved by the text that he later published his own annotated version of it.
Mokubei went on to study ceramics under Okuda Eisen, considered a founder of Kyō-yaki, and Unrinin Hozan, refining his technique and artistic vision.
At around age 30, Mokubei established a kiln in Awataguchi, Kyoto, and his work quickly gained acclaim. Five years later, he was invited by the Maeda clan of the Kaga Domain to help revive the then-declining tradition of Kaga Kutani ware. In 1805 (Bunka 2), at the age of 39, he was appointed official potter to the Awata Imperial Palace (Shōren-in-no-Miya).
Mokubei's artistic range was vast, including sencha utensils, white porcelain, celadon, akae (red overglaze), sometsuke (blue-and-white), and Kōchi ware. His work was deeply influenced by ancient Chinese ceramics, which he skillfully reinterpreted through a uniquely Japanese lens.
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