Akira Y. Yamamoto was born on January 7, 1940. He grew up in a small village called Shimane Prefecture, Japan. From an early age he took an interest in language and because his village was filled with stories of mythological tales, Akira deeply interested himself in the belief system of peoples. He carried his interests into his education as where he started at Mitoya Senior High School in Shimane, Japan (1955-1958). mnsu.edu:80