A type of Bizen ware with an elegant blue-gray color. Also called Ao-yaki or Ao-ibe. The best examples were produced during the Meiwa (1764-72) and Kansei (1789-1801) periods, and many of them have a tasteful elegance. This type of pottery was produced during the period of the old Ibe kilns, and although the raw materials are the same as those of ordinary Ibe ware, the color is due to the moderate localized annular action of the iron content in the kiln. In modern times, after the large kilns were abolished and the climbing kiln method was adopted, it became difficult to produce the rare type of Aobizen ware. (Shiota Rikizo)
