Kazuhide Takahama was born in Miyazaki on the Japanese island of Kyushu, in 1930. He graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1953 and went on to join the practice of architect Kazuo Fujioka.

Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was a prominent Japanese-American artist and designer known for his innovative and diverse body of work, which spanned sculpture, furniture design and landscape architecture.