Born in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō

She is also the cousin of fellow manga artist Satsuki Igarashi; a member of Clamp.

In 1968, as a third-year high school student at the Asahi Gaoka High School in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, she made her debut in Shueisha's Ribon manga magazine with Shiroi Same no iru Shima.

She won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award in 1977 as the artist of Candy Candy