Rin Inumaru was a Japanese manga artist, essayist, novelist, and illustrator, born in Tokyo in 1958. She began her professional career as a manga creator with the serialization of Nandemo Tsurukame in Weekly Morning magazine. Her most significant and enduring contribution to Japanese popular culture is the creation of Ojarumaru, known in English as Prince Mackaroo. The series, which follows the adventures of a young Heian-era prince who time-travels to the modern world, first aired on NHK Educational TV in October 1998 and has since become one of the longest-running anime series in Japan. Inumaru is officially credited as the original creator and also contributed to the series composition and original plans for the anime adaptation and its 2000 film, Eiga Ojarumaru: Yakusatsu no Natsu Ojaru to Semira. For her work on the series, she received an Excellence Award for animation at the 1999 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Beyond her role as a creator, Inumaru was a versatile writer who worked across multiple literary forms. The world of Ojarumaru, which blends comedy, fantasy, and slice-of-life storytelling, has become her artistic signature. The series' lasting popularity and its status as a staple of children's programming on NHK underscore her significance in the industry as the architect of a beloved and institutionally important franchise.

Rin Inumaru died on September 10, 2006.