Hi Stuart, I can see why the drawn character was not making sense. It indeed looks like a Chinese or Japanese Kanji chracter. However, it is written in a very fancy style with the lower part simplified, and is therefore difficult to read. Even although I read both Chinese and Japanese I can still not be sure what it says. But it looks more like studio pottery than anything else. Anyway, this doesn't change the conclusion that it is modern. This type of item and mark would have been impossible on vintage or antique porcelain.