Yoshida grew up in Shinkyō (currently
Changchun), the capital of
Manchukuo, in
Manchuria. Her father was a professional soldier who was taken to the
USSR by
Soviet troops at the close of
World War II in 1945. Between 1945 and 1947, Yoshida was detained on the island of Karafuto (
Sakhalin). Her mother brought her back to Japan, where Yoshida studied economics at
Nagoya Municipal Junior Two-Year College for Women. She graduated in 1954 and worked as a high school teacher in
Hamamatsu until 1960. In 1957, she married teacher and writer Kira Nin'ichi. == Awards==