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.
One-shots
Truly Kindly(本当に、やさしい。,Hontou ni, yasashii.)
Solfege(ソルフェージュ)
Kodomo no Taion(こどもの体温, lit. A Child's Temperature)
Lovers in the Night(愛とは夜に気付くもの,Ai Towa Yoru ni Kitzuku Mono)
Garden Dreams(彼は花園で夢を見る,Kare wa Hanazono de Yume wo Miru, lit. "He Dreams in the Flower Garden")
All My Darling Daughters(愛すべき娘たち,Ai Subeki Musumetachi)
Don't Say Anymore, Darling(それを言ったらおしまいよ,Sore wo Ittara Oshimai yo, lit. "If You Say That, It's Over")
Not Love but Delicious Foods(愛がなくても喰ってゆけます。,Ai ga Nakutemo Kutte Yukemasu.)
Shitsuji no Bunzai(執事の分際,lit. "A Butler's Place")
Series
The Moon and the Sandals(月とサンダル,Tsuki to Sandaru)
Ichigenme... The First Class is Civil Law(1限めはやる気の民法,Ichigenme wa Yaruki no Minpō)
Gerard & Jacques(ジェラールとジャック,Gerard to Jacques)
Antique Bakery(西洋骨董洋菓子店,Seiyō Kotto Yōgashiten)
Flower of Life(フラワー・オブ・ライフ,Furawā obu Raifu)
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers(大奥,lit. "The Shogun's Harem")
What Did You Eat Yesterday?(きのう何食べた?,lit. "What Did You Eat Yesterday?")
Shōnen-ai novels
Garasu Zaiku no Tenshi(硝子細工の天使)
Kono Ame ga Yuki ni Kawaru Made(この雨が雪にかわるまで)
Baby Love(ベイビィラヴ)
Position(ポジション)
Innocent Sky(イノセント・スカイ)
Saginuma Yakkyoku de...(サギヌマ薬局で…)
Second Messenger(セカンドメッセンジャー)
Hanayakana Meikyū(華やかな迷宮)
Itsutsu no Oto(五つの音)
Kamakura saryou koimonogatari(鎌倉茶寮恋物語)
Usotsuki no Koi(嘘ツキの恋)
Muzai Sekai(無罪世界)
Miscellaneous
Manga wa Ima Dounatte Oru no ka(マンガは今どうなっておるのか) - A book about the state of manga today by famed manga scholar, Fusanosuke Natsume
Kore ga Watashitachi no DVD Best Selection 70(これがワタシたちのDVDベストセレクション70) - Mag Garden
Motto! Kore ga Watashitachi no DVD Best Selection 70(もっと!これがワタシたちのDVDベストセレクション70) - Mag-Garden
Unmeironsha Jyakku to Sono Aruji(運命論者ジャックとその主人) - New Japanese edition of Denis Diderot's Jacques the Fatalist and his Master
Ano hito to Koko Dake no Oshaberi(あのひととここだけのおしゃべり) - Interviews of selected manga artist
Awards
Antique Bakery was the winner of the 26th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo manga category for 2002.
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.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers won an Excellence Award for manga at the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers was nominated for the eleventh annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in April 2007.
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
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers won 56th Shogakukan Manga Award in Girls' Category.
