Short answers, pulled from the story.
Saeko Himuro was a Japanese novelist, essayist, and playwright born on the 11th of January 1957 in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido Prefecture. She was one of the most popular authors under Shueisha's Cobalt Bunko imprint during the 1980s and 1990s, and is best known outside Japan for I Can Hear the Sea, which was adapted into a film by Studio Ghibli in 1993.
I Can Hear the Sea, released by Studio Ghibli in 1993, is based on Saeko Himuro's story. A television sequel, I Can Hear the Sea II: Because There Is Love, followed in 1995, starring Shinji Takeda and Hitomi Sato.
Saeko Himuro adapted Torikaebaya monogatari, a Heian-era tale, into a four-volume novel series called The Change!. She also translated Ochikubo Monogatari for Kodansha in 1993, one of the earliest works of Japanese prose fiction.
Saeko Himuro died on the 6th of June 2008 from lung cancer, aged 51.
Himuro published most of her novels under Shueisha's Cobalt Bunko imprint, but also released work with Kadokawa Shoten, Shinchosha, Kodansha, and Chikuma Shobo across her career.
Himuro's works were adapted into anime, film, television drama, radio drama, manga, stage plays, and a picture book. Adaptations appeared across publishers including Shogakukan, Hakusensha, and Shueisha, with theatrical productions staged into the mid-2000s.