Hideo Noda was born on a farm near Phoenix Arizona. After losing his father at the age of nine, his mother moved Hideo and his 5 siblings to Hiroshima, Japan. By age 11, Hideo had done his first watercolor painting. At age 17 he began experimenting with oil painting. In 1943 Noda was drafted into the Japanese Army and he was sent to China. In 1945, he was caught by the Russian Army and forced into a POW camp in Siberia, where he remained for 2 years. In 1947 he moved to Japan but after two years he decided to move to the United States. He attended San Francisco City College, and kept odd jobs to support himself. Hideo later attended UCLA and took an oil painting class. Shortly thereafter, his instructor told Noda that there was no need for him to take the class. His instructor felt he was wasting his money and he advised him to develop his style and techniques. Noda has appeared in interviews on television along with being featured in multiple newspaper articles through the years. His unique works can be found in galleries, museums, and private collections throughout the world.