Kuniaki Ida is an international theatre and opera director and acting coach. He graduated from the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music in Tokyo in 1973 where he studied Noh and Kyōgen, traditional Japanese forms of drama. He then became a member of the prestigious Kōbō Abe Studio in Tokyo. In the same year, he moved to Paris where he was trained at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, graduating in 1975. 

After moving to Italy, in 1978 he co-founded the Teatro Arsenale and the Scuola di Teatro Arsenale (affiliated drama school) with Marina Spreafico and directed several plays to this day. Since 1989, he has taught numerous classes in leading institutions and universities such as Civica Scuola d’Arte Drammatica Paolo Grassi, Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Civica Accademia d'Arte Drammatica Nico Pepe di Udine, Teatro Stabile di Napoli, and Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music in Tokyo, where he was conferred the title of honorary professorship in 2023.

He has directed plays, operas, and shows globally in Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Republic of Cipro, Albania, Poland, Iran, Russia, Israel, South Africa, and India. He currently lives and works in Milan.