Born in Tokyo. Entered Tokyo University of the Arts in 1960 and learned oil painting under Kaoru YAMAGUCHI. Received Honorable Mention at the 8th Shell Arts Award Exhibition in 1960. Learned copper plate printing in Tetsuro KOMAI's intensive course at university, and received a degree from the graduate school in 1966. Taking a hint from the simultaneous color print metho, TAKAYANAGI began to create copperplate prints. Soon he began production of unique metallic reliefs using collage of print English newspapers, and heightened his reputation.

Later, TAKAYANAGI began to create metallic emboss reliefs using photographs that he took himself, and from the latter half of the 1980's, moved on to silkscreen prints. From 1978 to the following year, he traveled to the United States, France, and the UK as an arts researcher for the Ministry of Culture.