A potter and Nanga (literati) painter of the late Edo period. He was commonly known as Kiya Sahei; his childhood name was Yasohachi, and combining the two he took the name Mokubei. After losing his hearing he also signed himself Beibei, "the deaf Bei". Through his association with Ko Fuyo and Kimura Kenkado he acquired the learning of a literatus, and he enjoyed the friendship and patronage of Tanomura Chikuden and Rai San'yo. His work centres on sencha tea vessels in blue-and-white and celadon. The inscription on his gravestone, "Grave of Mokubei, the lettered potter", shows that he held to the spirit of a craftsman all his life, yet he also left calligraphy, painting and poetry of high refinement. Among his best-known works is Morning Sun over Uji (Tokyo National Museum).