About Rie Yoshiyuki
Lived 1939 – 2006 (aged 66). Rie Yoshiyuki was a Japanese novelist, poet and writer.
was a Japanese writer of short stories, novels and poetry. She was awarded the Noma Children's Literature Newcomer Award, the Akutagawa Prize, and the Women's Literature Prize.
Biography Yoshiyuki was born in Tokyo as the third child of writer Eisuke Yoshiyuki and his wife Aguri, a prominent beautician. She graduated from the department of Japanese literature at Waseda University in 1961. In 1973, she published her short story about her father, who had died when she was only one year old. Other prize-winning works include and . Many of her stories have cats as characters or describe relationships between cats and humans, or draw upon childhood memories. Another recurring theme is the way people's cruel behaviour affects the lives of others.
Her older brother Junnosuke was also a novelist, and her older sister Kazuko is an actress.
Selected works 1963: Aoi Heya (poetry collection) 1967: Yume no naka de (poetry collection) 1971: Mahōtsukai no kushan neko 1972: Kumo no iru sora 1973: Kioku no naka ni 1973: Senaka no neko 1975: Otoko girai (short story collection) 1981: The Little Lady (short story collection) 1981: Ido no hoshi (short story collection) 1982: Meiro no futago 1983: Tooka no tsubomi 1983: Haioku no hime-gimi 1987: Hana kagami 1988: Kiiroi neko (short story collection)
Translations Only few of Yoshiyuki's writings have been translated into English, these include her poems Carrying and Sacrificial Victim, and the short story The Little Lady. Her short story was translated into German as Im Brunnen die Sterne.
Awards 1967: Tamura Toshiko Prize for Yume no naka de 1970: 9th Noma Children's Literature Newcomer Award for Mahōtsukai no kushan neko 1981: 85th Akutagawa Prize for The Little Lady 1989: 28th Women's Literature Prize for Kiiroi neko
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Rie Yoshiyuki's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Rie Yoshiyuki's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Rie Yoshiyuki?
Japanese novelist, poet and writer
When was Rie Yoshiyuki born?
Rie Yoshiyuki was born on 8 July 1939 in Tokyo.
When did Rie Yoshiyuki die?
Rie Yoshiyuki died on 4 May 2006 in Tokyo.
What was Rie Yoshiyuki's occupation?
Rie Yoshiyuki was a novelist, poet and writer.
What nationality was Rie Yoshiyuki?
Rie Yoshiyuki was Japanese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rie Yoshiyuki. https://biography.guide/rie-yoshiyuki/
MLA: "Rie Yoshiyuki." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rie-yoshiyuki/.
Chicago: "Rie Yoshiyuki." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rie-yoshiyuki/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:29 UTC