Hiroshi Nishimura grew up in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. After finishing high school in 1963, he landed a spot at Osamu Tezuka's legendary Mushi Production, eventually moving to Tezuka Productions as well. He's best known for his work animating and illustrating period novels—that's really where his skill set landed.

In 1986, Nishimura struck out on his own and founded Milky Way, an independent production company. Since then, he's become a regular contributor to NHK's Minna no Uta program, creating videos for the show over a long stretch of years. That work kept him consistently visible in Japanese animation circles, even as he built his own studio.