Born 1946 in Kyoto, Yuji Takeoka studies sculpture at Kyoto University of the Arts from 1968 to 1972. From 1973 to 1979 he continues his art studies at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf with Erwin Heerich and Klaus Rinke. In 1992 he participates at the documenta IX at Kassel. In 1995 Yuji Takeoka is appointed as Professor at the University of Arts, Bremen, where he teaches until his retirement in 2013. He lives and works in Dusseldorf.