Kosei Miya was born in Tokyo in 1937. He studied literature, art and history, along with ethnology, economics and sociology. His career as an essayist and author of documentary books began with the magazine Weekly Book Review, where he was editor from 1958 to 1964. He discovered Romania in 1965, and quickly developed an enthusiasm for the country and especially for Maramureş which was to bring him back many times in subsequent years. Since 1971 he has collaborated on a series of international publications. Several of his books, and two volumes of photographs Rumanian Rhapsody (1986) and Europa Orientalis (1991) are devoted to Romania.