Yumiko Kawahara, born April 20, 1960, in Hakodate, Hokkaido, is a Japanese manga artist whose career spans from the late 1970s through the 2010s. She made her professional debut in 1978 with Kotchi muite Marie!!, serialized in the weekly Shōjo Comic, for which she received the Shogakukan New Artist Award.

Kawahara is credited as the original creator for the 1987 original video animation Milk House Dreaming: Ai no Shiki. This OVA was an adaptation of her manga Zenryaku Milk House, a series that originally ran from 1983 to 1986. The anime adaptation took the form of an image video, setting watercolor artwork from the manga to a series of pop songs. The Zenryaku Milk House series itself was recognized with the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo in 1986, solidifying her status within the industry during that decade.

Her body of work as a writer and artist extends beyond this notable title. Kawahara is also known for the manga series Dolls, which was licensed for publication in North America by Viz Media. Other credited works include Tsukikage Cafe, Naname no Ongaku, and Maid Anthology Comic.

Throughout her career, Kawahara's artistic identity has shown a distinct evolution. While her output in the 1980s often centered on humorous narratives, her later works moved toward more fantastical and darker themes, with many of her stories from the 1990s onward appearing in Nemuki, a magazine known for horror and bizarre tales. This trajectory reflects a shift from mainstream shōjo romance toward more speculative and psychologically nuanced storytelling.