Kaoru Kurimoto was the pen name of Sumiyo Imaoka, a highly prolific Japanese novelist born in Tokyo on February 13, 1953. She graduated from the literature department of Waseda University in 1975. Kurimoto also wrote criticism and music under the name Azusa Nakajima, and she performed as a pianist with her own jazz ensemble. She began her literary career with remarkable success, winning the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 1977 as Azusa Nakajima and the prestigious Edogawa Rampo Prize in 1978 for her novel Our Era, making her the youngest-ever winner of that award. Over her lifetime, she wrote nearly 400 books across numerous genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and historical romance. Kurimoto passed away on May 26, 2009, in Tokyo at the age of 56 due to pancreatic cancer.

As an original creator, Kurimoto is best known for the Guin Saga, a heroic fantasy epic that stands as her magnum opus. The series, which she wrote from 1979 until her death, is one of the longest single works of fiction by a single author, comprising 126 main volumes and 21 side stories. The story follows a mysterious amnesiac warrior cursed with a leopard mask who cannot remember his past. The Guin Saga has been translated into multiple languages, including English, German, French, Italian, and Russian, and has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Beyond the Guin Saga, her other notable original works include the novel Mayonaka no Tenshi (Midnight Angel) from 1979, the Makai Suikoden (Demon World Water Margin) series which is considered an important work in the Japanese Cthulhu Mythos, and Makyou Yuugeki Tai, a work that bridges the Guin Saga with the Cthulhu Mythos.

Several of Kurimoto's original works have been adapted into manga and anime. The Guin Saga was adapted into a television anime series that premiered in April 2009, the same year as her death. Multiple manga adaptations of the Guin Saga exist, including a series illustrated by Kazuaki Yanagisawa titled Guin Saga: The Seven Magi, which was published in English by Vertical, and another adaptation by Hajime Sawada. Her work The Sword of Paros, a manga from 1986, was illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi, the artist known for Candy Candy.

Several recurring themes and elements define Kurimoto's artistic identity. Her writing shows a clear influence from author Mori Mari, and a number of her works prominently feature homosexual love. Her 1979 novel Mayonaka no Tenshi played a pioneering role in the creation of the shonen-ai and yaoi genres, helping establish interest in these themes before they became widely popular. She was also deeply involved with the first issue of the yaoi magazine JUNE in 1978, contributing stories and criticism under her various pen names, and she even created a fictitious French identity to write for the magazine, which led readers to send letters to France before the publisher revealed the author's true identity. Kurimoto herself described the term heroic fantasy as a special conjuration that had captivated her since childhood.

Kurimoto's significance to the Japanese entertainment industry is substantial. The Guin Saga is recognized as the longest novel series in Japanese literary history. Her influence extended to other major creators, as Kentaro Miura, the author of the manga Berserk, stated that his work would not have been the same without her. Her ability to work across multiple genres and media, including writing musicals based on her creations, demonstrated her versatility as a creator. Following her death, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan association awarded her a special posthumous prize in recognition of her immense contributions to literature.