Shuzo Yoshida (1956) was born in Japan and began making clay models as soon as he entered the Ichibaku-Home in Shiga prefecture in 1967, at the age of eleven. This institution for people with intellectual disabilities organised ceramics workshops from 1964 onwards. He lived in the centre and attended the workshop for more than twenty years. 
During the first three years of his stay, Yoshida copied the work of other residents before developing his own mode of expression. By 1970, he was making highly original, composite sculptures. His vaguely anthropomorphic creations feature horned faces, multi-headed animals and centaurs suggesting mythical figures and creatures. He left the Ichibaku-Home in 1979, returning home to his family, and has continued to visit the studio occasionally.