was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 novelist, essayist, and playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

  born in Iwamizawa

Iwamizawa, Hokkaido

is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan.On March 27, 2006 the town of Kurisawa, and the village of Kita, both from Sorachi District, Sorachi Subprefecture, have merged into Iwamizawa....

, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was one of the most popular authors released under Shueisha's

Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

 Cobalt Bunko imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

. She is best known outside Japan for I Can Hear the Sea, later a Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli

is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...

 movie. The cause of her death was determined as lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

.

Novels

All titles published by Shueisha

Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

 Cobalt imprint unless otherwise noted.

1970s (1978) (1979)

1980s (1980) (1980) (1981) (1981) (1981) (1982) (1983)

The Change! is a four-volume adaptation of Torikaebaya monogatari

Torikaebaya Monogatari

, translated into English as The Changelings, is a Japanese tale from the late Heian period by an unknown author, or possibly more than one author. It is four volumes in length....

, a Heian-era tale. (1983) (1983) (1984) (1984) (1984) (1984) (1985) (1985) (1985) (1986) (1986) (1988) (1988) (1988) (1989) (1989) (1989, Kadokawa Shoten

Kadokawa Shoten

is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...

) (1989, Kadokawa Shoten)

1990s (1990) (1990) (1991) (1991) (1991, Shinchosha

Shinchosha

is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.-Monthly:* ENGINE* Foresight* nicola*Shinchō-External links:*...

 Nochi Bunko) (1991, Shueisha Nochi Bunko) vol.1-11 (1992–1996) (1993) (1993) (1995)

Essays

(1987, Nochi Bunko) (1989, Nochi Bunko) (1990, Nochi Bunko) (1990, Shueisha Cobalt) (1990, Kadokawa SHoten) (1992, Nochi Bunko) (1993, Nochi Bunko) (1995, Nochi Bunko)

Collaborations

• Boku ga Suki na Hito e (1993, with Katsuya Kondō
  Katsuya Kondo
  is a Japanese manga artist, character designer, animator and animation director. He is best known for his character design work on the Studio Ghibli films Kiki's Delivery Service and Ocean Waves, as well as the PlayStation game Jade Cocoon...
  
  , based on I Can Hear the Sea)

Works made into television dramas

• Nante Suteki ni Japanesque (starring Yasuko Tomita
  Yasuko Tomita
  is a Japanese actress. She won the Award for Best Newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival and at the 8th Japan Academy Prize for Aiko 16 sai. She also won the award for best actress at the 9th Yokohama Film Festival for Bu Su.-Filmography:...
  
  )
• I Can Hear the Sea II: Because There Is Love (1995, starring Shinji Takeda and Hitomi Satō)

Works made into radio dramas

• Nante Suteki ni Japanesque (NHK-FM
  NHK
  NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
  
  , starring Satomi Kobayashi
  Satomi Kobayashi
  is a Japanese actress from Tokyo. She won the award for best newcomer at the 4th Yokohama Film Festival for Exchange Students. She was previously married to screenwriter Kōki Mitani.-Filmography:# Exchange Students...
  
  )

Works made into films

• Clara Hakusho (1985, starring Shōjotai)
• Koisuru Onnatachi (1986, starring Yuki Saito)

Works made into anime

• I Can Hear the Sea (1993, made by Studio Ghibli
  Studio Ghibli
  is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
  
  )

Manga

These manga were either written by Himuro or the original story idea was created by her. (Shogakukan

Shogakukan

is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...

, drawn by Yumi Kagawa) (Shogakukan, drawn by Kazuko Fujita

Kazuko Fujita

is a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1977 in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic and she has written manga mainly for Flower Comics. She is best known for Makoto Call! about a girl who plays volleyball, for which she received the 1992 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo...

) (Shueisha, drawn by Hiromi Tanigawa)

Works made into manga

• Clara Hakusho (Shogakukan, Noa Misaki)
• Agnes Hakusho (Shogakukan, Noa Misaki)
• Nante Suteki ni Japanesque (Hakusensha
  Hakusensha
  is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
  
  , Naomi Yamauchi)
• Zakkyo Jidai (Hakusensha, Naomi Yamauchi)
• Warabigaoka Monogatari (Hakusensha, Naomi Yamauchi)
• The Change! (Hakusensha, Naomi Yamauchi)
• Shōjo Shōsetsu Ie wa Shinanai! (Hakusensha, Miyuki Nishizawa)
• Koisuru Onnatachi (Shueisha, Miyoko Nanbu)

Works made into picture books

• Cinderella Mystery (Tokuma Shoten
  Tokuma Shoten
  is a publisher in Japan, that was established in 1954.The company was also the parent company for the film studio Daiei Motion Pictures, bought in 1974, and the record label Tokuma Japan Communications, bought in 1972, until both were sold off when Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who established this company,...
  
  , artist: Mutsumi Inomata
  Mutsumi Inomata
  is a Japanese illustrator and animator.-Biography:An anime fan, Inomata began her career as an animator with Toei Animation, soon after graduating from her senior year at high school...
  
  )

Works made into plays

• Searching for Lady Anne
  • OSK Nippon Kagekidan produced this play in 1996. Michiru Kō starred in the debut performance at the Kintetsu Theatre.
  • Ralph Becker: Michiru Kō
  • Lady Anne: Mebae Kojō
• The Change!
  • Theatre Echo produced this play from 2000-11-12 to 2000-11-21 at the Shinjuku Minamiguchi Kinokuniya Southern Theatre.
    • Produced by Haruhiko Jō
      Haruhiko Jo
      is a Japanese actor, theatre director and voice actor currently affiliated with Engekikurabu Za.-Animation:*Crest of the Stars *Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century *Sol Bianca: The Legacy...
      
      
    • Script by Michihiro Ōtani
  • The female musical theater group Gekidan Star of Dreams production ran during September 2005 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Morinomiya Planet Station.
    • Produced by Kaori Ōra
• Cinderella Mystery
  • Produced by Theatre Company Caramelbox in 1994 at the Tokyo Geijutsu Geijō Little Hall and Shinbashi Yakult Hall.
  • Produced by Ryūnosuke Kuse
  • Script by Yutaka Narui