Mariko Hayashi (born 1954) is a Japanese novelist and essayist. After graduating from Nihon University, she worked as a copywriter before making her literary debut with the bestselling essay collection "Run Run wo Katte Ouchi ni Kaero." She established herself as one of Japan's leading writers by winning the 94th Naoki Prize in 1986 for "Saishu-bin ni Ma Ni Aeba" and "Kyoto Made." Over the following decades, she published widely acclaimed novels, essays, historical fiction, and biographies, earning major literary honors including the Shibata Renzaburo Award, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature, and the Kikuchi Kan Prize. She also served as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Nihon University from 2022 to 2026. Her best-known novel, "Fukigen na Kajitsu" ("An Ill-Tempered Fruit"), explores marriage, desire, and modern relationships with sharp psychological insight and became a major bestseller that was adapted multiple times for film and television.