Gen Yamanaka, born in 1954 in Fukushima Prefecture, graduated in 1978 from the Department of Oil Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. Many of his works are characterized by the translucency and fluent quality of their color application. In 1984, Yamanaka won the Printmaking Newcomers Award. He participated in the Wakayama Print Biennale in 1985, the Bradford (UK) International Print Biennale in 1986, and the Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts in 1991.

While concentrating on woodblock printing as his medium of choice, Yamanaka has also worked in monotyping, glass painting, oil painting, and objects, as well as he has produced anthologies of poetry and painting. Public collections holding his works include the Fukuoka Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the British Museum, the University Art Museum at Tokyo University of the Arts and the Kitakata City Museum of Art.