Painter, printmaker, and collagist Yutaka Funai had originally gone to school to study law before switching to printmaking and painting, taking courses at the Osaka Univerity of Art under Izumi Shigeru. He was an original member of the Japanese post-war avant garde movement "Gunai," which spanned the years 1955 to 1972 under the direction of Jiro Yoshihara. Following his time there he joined the Democratic Artist Association and continued to exhibit throughout Japan as well as internationally. He taught at the Osaka University of Art in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2011, the year following his death, a major retrospective was held at the Art Court Gallery in Osaka, Japan, featuring over 150 works including silkscreens, lithographs, oil paintings, and collages from the 1950s to the 1990s. His works are held in museums throughout the U.S. and Japan, with major collections at the National Museums of Osaka and Kyoto.