Yumiko was born in Tokyo and started playing piano at the age of four. On graduating from Toho Music Academy in Tokyo, one of Japan’s most prestigious music schools, she came to the United States and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.

She won first prize at the Wurlitzer Collegiate Artist Competition and second prize at the International Beethoven Piano Sonata Competition.

Since 1995 she has been performing contemporary Japanese music (including world premieres) internationally with performances in Tokyo, Kyoto, Toronto, and San Juan. Yumiko Oshima-Ryan is currently an Associate Professor of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.