Born as the daughter of a prominent Shinto priest, Matsubara grew up at the Kenkun Shrine in the northern part of Kyoto.
She graduated from high school in Kyoto, then attended Tokyo's International Christian University, where she studied comparative religion and literature.
This work turned into a collection of short stories and essays, Blick aus Mandelaugen, 1968, through which she entered the German literary scene.
She published several novels in German (Brokatrausch 1978, Samurai 1979, Glückspforte 1980, Abendkranich 1981, Brückenbogen 1986,Karpfentanz 1994, Himmelszeichen 1998,) which were quite successful in Germany and internationally as well.
She received the New York Critics Award in 1985 and in 1987 she was the Writer in residence at the East West Center in Manoa, Hawaii.