Yoneshi Hieda was born in 1919 in Aiichi-Ken, Hazugun Ishiki-cho, a small village located in central section of Japan. In 1939 Hieda traveled to Shanghai, China to practice his art studies and returned in 1946 to Japan and became captivated with the ancient art of razor cuttings known as Kiri-eh. By 1947 he became a member of “Avant Garde”, an international group of painters involved in abstract art.