Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
Career
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
All My Darling Daughters was selected as one of Jury Recommended Works on Manga Division of Japan Media Arts Festival for 2004
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers won a special prize at The Japanese Association of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy's fifth annual Sense of Gender Awards in 2005.
Antique Bakery, as released in the US by Digital Manga Publishing, was nominated for a 2007 Eisner Award in a new category devoted to Japanese works entitled "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan."
Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the Digital Manga Publishing version of Flower of Life were included in the 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list by Yalsa
The first volume of the Digital Manga Publishing version of The Moon and the Sandals was nominated for inclusion in the 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list by Yalsa (August 2007).
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Flower of Life and Kinou nani tabeta? were nominated for the inaugural Manga Taisho ("Cartoon Grand Prize") award in January 2008.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers was nominated for the twelfth annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in March 2008.
Fumi Yoshinaga was nominated for the Best Writer/Artist award in the 2008 Eisner Awards in April 2008.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers won Grand Prize in the 13th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in April 2009.
First volume of Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, as released in the US by VIZ Media, was included in the 2010 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens list by Yalsa
Volumes 1 and 2 of the VIZ Media version of Ōoku: The Inner Chambers won 2009 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
