Katsuyuki Nishijima was born in 1945 in Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. At the age of 19, he trained as a woodblock print artist with the publisher Mikumo (美雲), in Kyoto. During this time is when he gained an interest in making block prints. His modern print designs are a part of the Sōsaku-hanga Japanese print movement. All of the prints are carved and printed by Nishijima himself, which is a key characteristic of the Sōsaku-hanga (creative print) movement.