Yamazaki was born in Kobe, Japan to a British college professor father and a Japanese schoolteacher mother.

[4] After graduation, Yamazaki served as an assistant for documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard, working as a film editor.

[5] Her next film, Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams followed coaches and players from two Japanese high schools during the 100th summer Kōshien baseball tournament, and was shown on ESPN.

The work closely follows first and sixth graders for one year at a public elementary school in Tokyo's Setagaya ward, giving an intimate look at how the Japanese educational system shapes the lives of those who pass through it.

Her shorter film, Instruments of a Beating Heart was adapted from The Making of a Japanese and released by the New York Times.