Born in 1965 in Hyogo, Japan. Maya Yonesho was born in 1965 Hyogo, Japan. After working as an art teacher at a junior high school for several years, she returned to college to study Japanese painting and conceptual & media art at Kyoto City University of Arts and also worked for a children's TV program as a clay animator. After receiving her MA of fine art (1998), she began making independent films and conducting various animation workshops.