Yumoto was born in
Tokyo and graduated from
Tokyo College of Music. She began writing scripts for opera and became a writer for television and radio. Her debut children's novel
The Friends (1992) received the Newcomer Award from the Japan Children's Literature Association and the
Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards in 1999. It was adapted to a movie in 1994, directed by
Shinji Sōmai.
Kishibe no Tabi (
Journey to the Shore), another of her books, was adapted to a film; directed by
Kiyoshi Kurosawa, it won the
Un Certain Regard award at the
2015 Cannes Film Festival. == Selected works ==