Takashi Murakami was born in Tokyo, Japan on February 1, 1962. His influence on art derives from his mother, who studied needlepoint and designed textiles. Murakami knew he wanted to be an artist when he grew up and had always taken a large interest in Japanese manga and anime. He studied art throughout much of his adolescence and applied to study at Tokyo National University. He was accepted and later received his Ph.D. in Fine Arts and Music, in which he learned “Nihong,” or traditional Japanese painting. After his studies, Murakami moved to New York in 1994 and was exposed to, and inspired by, Western contemporary artists Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons.
