[2][3] He graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 1988 with a master's degree in composition design, working on animated puppets called karakuri.

[7] His first projects involved graphic design, creating sprites for Nintendo Entertainment System games such as 1991's NES Open Tournament Golf.

Following work on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, he considered moving on to other projects but was convinced by Miyamoto to continue with the series.

[12] Aonuma plays percussion as a founding member of the Wind Wakers, a brass band formed in 1995.

[13][14][15] He was promoted to the position of deputy general manager within the company's Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) division in June 2019.