Furui Yoshikichi, the youngest of four children, was born in Tokyo. Both his parents had come from Gifu Prefecture, where his father's family had been wealthy. During World War II the Furui home in Tokyo was bombed, and the family evacuated to his father's hometown. When it was also bombed, the family moved to his mother's hometown and remained there until the end of the war. The family returned to Tokyo after the war and lived in various rented places for the rest of Furui's childhood.

Furui had an early interest in literature, and in high school he published stories in the literary magazine at his school. In 1956 he entered the German Literature Department at Tokyo University, and during his university years he became interested in mountain climbing and spent his summer holidays hiking in the Japanese Alps. He was also interested in the literary works of Franz...