Kaoru Yumi is a Japanese actress and voice performer whose career includes work in film, television, and voice-over. Her birth name is Yumiko Nishitsuji, and she was born in Kyoto, Japan, on November 12, 1950. Her professional stage name was developed early in her career, combining a nickname derived from her first name with another element suggested by media personnel.

Yumi’s entertainment career began when she was a teenager. At the age of 12, she joined the Nishino Ballet Group, and by 15, she was appearing on the television program 11PM. Her early work included a role opposite actor Yujiro Ishihara in the Nikkatsu film Kill the Night Rose (1966). In the 1970s, she became known for her roles in tokusatsu productions, a genre of Japanese science fiction and fantasy. She landed lead roles in two notable Toho films released in 1974, Prophecies of Nostradamus and Espy, and also starred in the television series Submersion of Japan.

One of her credited voice roles is in the 1979 animated film The Phoenix: Chapter of Dawn, known in Japanese as Hi no Tori. This film is based on the Dawn storyline from Osamu Tezuka’s acclaimed manga series of the same name. In this production, she provided the voice for the character Uzume, who is identified as a dancer from Matsuro. The film was directed by Kon Ichikawa and featured a cast that included Tatsuya Nakadai and Tomisaburo Wakayama. This role is a notable achievement within her filmography as an example of her work in animation, drawn from a classic and influential manga.