Kyōko Matsuoka

Kyoko Matsuoka (March 12, 1935 – January 25, 2022; ) was a Japanese librarian, translator, and expert in children's literature. She is known for her own children's books, of which she wrote more than 200 in her lifetime, as well as translations of works for young readers, particularly her translation of the classic Paddington Bear series.

After working at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, and the , she founded the Matsunomi Bunko, a private children's library. When Matsunomi and three other libraries joined to form the in 1974, she became founding director of the organization.

In 2021, she was designated a Person of Cultural Merit. She then attended Keio University in Tokyo, where working at the campus library led her to decide on a career as a children's librarian.

During this period, Matsuoka began cultivating relationships with other women interested in promoting children's literature in Japan, including Momoko Ishii, Teiji Seta, and Shigeko Tsuchiya. She also translated many children's books from English and is perhaps best known as the Japanese translator of the Paddington Bear series, beginning with The Adventures of Paddington in 1967.

Throughout her career, Matsuoka helped popularize children's books and libraries for children across Japan. For this work, she was honored as a Person of Cultural Merit in 2021. She died the following year, in January 2022, at age 86.