Haruhiko Yoshimeki was born in Odawara, Japan, in 1957. Louisiana Pile Driving, an autobiographical novel, was published in Japan by Gunzo magazine in March 1989 and then as a book by Kodansha in September 1989. The book included another novel. Zipangu, which received Gunzo magazine's New Novelist Award in 1986. Yoshimeki now lives in Tokyo. Much of the credit for the appearance of these excerpts goes to Japanese critic Hideyo Sengoku. This is the first publication of Yoshimeki's work in the United States.