IIDA was born 1923 in Ashikaga City in Tochigi Prefecture. In 1949, he graduated from Keio University with a degree in Art & Art History. He then enrolled at the Oil Painting course at Tokyo University of the Arts, and graduated in 1953. In 1956, IIDA relocated to Rome, initially planning to further his studies in painting, but instead began to learn with the sculptor Fazzini. IIDA was highly active throughout his time in Europe, visiting Berlin, Wien etc. and winning many awards.

After his return to Japan in 1967, IIDA continued to engage in sculpture, stainless steel monuments, and published critical texts and poetry. In 1983, he was appointed a professor at Hosei University. He passed away in 2006. Major publications include “Invisible Sculpture” (Ozawa Shoten, 1977), “Picasso” (of the series Great Minds of the 20th Century, Iwanami Shoten, 1983) and the poetry collection “In an Unknown City” (Shichosha, 1983).