Born in 1967 in Saga on the southern Japanese island of Kyūshū, Tokujin Yoshioka studied at the Kuwasawa Design School in Tokyo. After completing his studies, he worked for the product designer Shirō Kuramata, from 1988 and for four years, for the fashion designer Issey Miyake. Tokujin Yoshioka gained experience in the conception of exhibitions and shop windows. The foundation of his own design studio "Tokujin Yoshioka Inc." in Tokyo followed in 2000. The office located in Shibuya specializes in design, architecture and contemporary art and designs works very often inspired by nature.
Tokujin Yoshioka designed high-quality seats for renowned Italian design companies like Kartell, Cassina and Driade, and became internationally famous. His Honey Pop-Chair seat created in 2001 is an elaborate furniture creation made of paper, thanks to a honeycomb structure ensuring stability. Many of his works are displayed in the permanent collections of large museums, for example the MoMA in New York or the Centre d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou in Paris. Beside furniture, the Japanese also designed exhibitions, interior arrangements and shop windows' decorations.
Tokujin Yoshioka won numerous international awards, such as the Elle Deco International Design Award "Designer of the Year" (2009) and the "Creator of the Year 2012" Award by Maison & Objet.