[3] Yamagiwa received his bachelor's degree in science from Kyoto University in 1971.

He then received his master's and Ph.D. degrees in science from the same university in 1977 and 1987 respectively.

[1] Yamagiwa was a research fellow with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science from 1980 to 1982.

From 1989 to 1997, he was an assistant professor with the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University.

In October 2014, he became President of Kyoto University, retiring from the position in September 2020.