She wrote the lyrics for over 20 other songs, including "Yūki" sung by Mana Ashida for the 81st NHK All Japan School Singing Competition.
Her family then moved back to Sapporo for a short time before being evacuated at the end of World War II.
In 1962, this book won the Minister of Health and Welfare Award (厚生大臣賞, Kōsei Daijin Shō), the Sankei Juvenile Publications Culture Award (産経児童出版文化賞, Sankei Jidō Shuppan Bunkashō), the Noma Juvenile Cultural Arts Recommended Work Prize (野間児童文芸推奨作品賞, Noma Jidō Bungei Suishō Sakuhin Shō) and the NHK Juvenile Literature Honorable Mention (NHK児童文学奨励賞, NHK Jidō Bungaku Shōreishō).
[1] The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature awarded the Kikuchi Kan Prize jointly with her younger sister Yuriko Yamawaki for their children's book series Guri and Gura.
She also wrote lyrics for multiple songs for the 1988 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, including Sanpo and Maigo.