Taro Yakumo was born in 1976 in Tokyo to an art dealer father and a metal engraver mother. He was surrounded by art and took oil painting lessons from an early age. At 13, he became interested in Western culture and started picking up the bass and guitar. Yakumo actively participated in a band and created original music that were influenced by British and American pop and rock music, which later led him to seek activities abroad. In the early 2000's the contemporary art market started to flourish in Japan, and inspired by his father, he began to visit art fairs and auctions in Asia. Intrigued by the art market, he decided to study abroad in Korea in 2009. Returning home to Japan, Yakumo established his gallery and started to participate in art fairs and auctions in Asia and the United States while learning about the global art market and working as a gallerist. As a railway aficionado since childhood, Yakumo has been exploring the connection between railways and art which advocated a new category called "painted railway"or "KAKITESU" (enthusiastic painter of railways), producing and exhibiting in a variety of contemporary artistic expressions.