After graduating from Konan Women's University she took a job writing copy for advertising.
[1] Asai made her literary debut in 2008 with Mi sae hana sae (実さえ花さえ), which won the Shōsetsu Gendai Novel Newcomer Encouragement Prize from Kodansha.
[2] She chose the pen name "Makate" to honor her Okinawan grandmother.
Her 2013 novel Renka (恋歌, Love Song), a story based on the life of the poet Nakajima Utako, won the 150th Naoki Prize, which she shared with Kaoruko Himeno.
[5][6] Her book Oranda Saikaku (阿蘭陀西鶴), a story based on the life of the poet Ihara Saikaku, won the 31st Oda Sakunosuke Prize.