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.
Her first poetry collection titled was published in 1963. Her 1967 poetry collection won her the Tamura Toshiko Prize. In 1973, she published her short story about her father, who had died when she was only one year old. A collection of short stories titled followed in 1975.
Her children's story won her the Noma Children's Literature Newcomer Award. 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.
Yoshiyuki died in Tokyo on 4 May 2006 of thyroid cancer.
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
References