Kumiko Kakehashi (born 1961) is a Japanese nonfiction writer. After working as an editor, she began writing books based on meticulous archival research and extensive interviews, focusing on war, literature, and remarkable historical figures. Her debut book, "Chiru zo Kanashiki: Iōtō Sōshikikan Kuribayashi Tadamichi," won the Ōya Sōichi Nonfiction Prize, and her later work "Kuruu Hito: The Wife of 'The Sting of Death' Author Toshio Shimao" received the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Minister of Education's Art Encouragement Prize, and the Kodansha Nonfiction Prize. Her best-known work, "Chiru zo Kanashiki: Iōtō Sōshikikan Kuribayashi Tadamichi," reconstructs the Battle of Iwo Jima through General Tadamichi Kuribayashi's letters, portraying both his leadership in war and his devotion to his family.