was a Japanese writer.
After first being employed by a publisher, Yamamoto, himself, became a full-time writer.
In 2004, he won the Seichà  Matsumoto Award for Katen no shiro, and in 2009 the Naoki Prize for Rikyà « ni Tazune yo. Both books were made into movies.
Yamamoto died on February 13, 2014, from lung cancer at the age of 57.