Akira Kurosaki was born in Dalien, Manchuria on January 10, 1937. While still a student in junior high, his father arranged for Akira to study painting with Tsuguro Ito in Ashiya. When it was time to plan for university studies, his father forbade him from studying painting as he felt his son could not make a living as an artist. In 1956 Kurosaki entered he Kyoto Institute of Technology where he studied in the Department of Design and received his B.A. degree in 1962. Almost immediately after earning his degree, he began teaching part-time until 1968. His first solo color woodcut exhibition was mounted at Shimanouchi Gallery in Osaka in 1965.

Kurosaki has traveled the world as a visiting professor, artist in residence, and lecturer. He served on the international juries or as a chairman of the Executive Committee for various International Print Biennales. His work is represented in the collections of the Kyoto City Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art in Kamakura, National Museum of Art in Osaka, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, Bellas Artes National Museum in Santiago, Bibliotheque nationale in Paris, National Museum of Krakow, Museum of Modern Art in New York, Library of Congress in Washington, Los Angeles County Museum, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts in San Francisco, and the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.