Aoki Mokubei

Born at Kyoto into the Kiya family of restauranteurs, adopting the Aoki surname only after he became a painter (real name Aoki Sahei). He was late-deafened from the noise of his ceramic workshops, and one of his many artist's names, Robei ("deaf [Moku]bei"), comes from this. His ceramic works were intended mainly for the Japanese tea ceremony, and his paintings were chiefly landscapes.