Toyoko Yamasaki (山崎 豊子, real name Sugimoto Toyoko; 3 November 1924 – 29 September 2013) was a Japanese novelist.
A native of Osaka, Yamasaki worked as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1945 to 1959 after graduating from Kyoto Women's University in Japanese literature. She published her first story, Noren (1957), a story of a kelp trader, based on the experiences of her family's business. The following year, she won the Naoki Prize for her second novel Hana Noren, the story about the founder of an entertainment group. A major influence on her writings of that period was Yasushi Inoue, who was deputy head of the Mainichi Shimbun's cultural news desk.
Yamasaki wrote some stories based on actual events. For example, Futatsu no Sokoku is derived from the biography of a Japanese American David Akira Itami, and Shizumanu Taiyō is based on the Japan Airlines Flight 123 accident. Several works of hers were featured in films and television dramas.
It was absolutely amazing book to read. The storyu is about the tragedy that is going to happen in very rich family. Throughout the story, you can see the members of family denying morality to chieve their ambition and in the end, the farther will drive his own son into the death to get more wealth and higher social status. Thus the book had gotten a really deep theme, and it is recommendable for all readers.