Miura was born in
Tokyo, Japan in 1976.[1] While attending university she planned to become an editor, but she was signed by a literary agent and started her writing career.[2] She graduated from
Waseda University.[3]
Career
A year after graduating from Waseda, Miura published her first novel, Kakuto suru mono ni maru (A Passing Grade for Those Who Fight).[2] She won the 135th
Naoki Prize in 2006 for her book Mahoro ekimae Tada benriken.[4] The novel and its sequels have been adapted into a series of movies by
Tatsushi Ōmori,[5] a
TV Tokyo television show,[6] and a
manga series.[7] Her novel
Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru (Run with the Wind), about 2 former elite runners who inspire each other to take up running again, was published in 2006 and later adapted into a 2009 live-action film and a 2018
NTV animated series.[8] In 2008 her novel Hikari (Light), a story about rape, murder, and consequences over time, was published.[9]Hikari was adapted into a 2017 suspense film directed by
Tatsushi Ōmori.[10][11]
Miura's novel Fune wo amu (Compiling the Boat), about a 15 year effort to create a new dictionary called The Great Passage, was published by
Kobunsha in 2011.[12] In 2012 Fune wo amu won the
Japan Booksellers' Award.[13] A
2013 film adaptation of Fune wo amu, directed by
Yuya Ishii, won several
Japan Academy Prizes, including Best Picture.[14] In 2016
Fuji TV adapted the novel into an
anime series, also called
Fune wo amu.[15] An English version of Fune wo amu, translated by
Juliet Winters Carpenter, was published in 2017 under the title The Great Passage.[16] Kris Kosaka of The Japan Times described The Great Passage as "stylistically adept, with the shift in narratives smoothly connecting as characters’ stories overlap through time and space."[17]
In 2015 Miura's novel Ano ie ni kurasu yonin no onna, a story that loosely follows the setting and themes of
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's work The Makioka Sisters, won the 32nd Oda Sakunosuke Prize.[18][19]
Miura has cited
Kenji Maruyama and
Hideo Nakai as favorite authors.[1] She is a fan of
BLmanga, and a collection of her essays on
yaoi was published under the title Shumi ja nainda (It's Not Just a Hobby) in 2006.[20]