[3] She soon became one of Nikkatsu's top actresses,[2] but it was her portrayals of strong-willed modern girls in Kenji Mizoguchi's Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion in 1936 at the new Daiichi Eiga studio that earned her popularity and critical acclaim.

[1] During World War II, she established the theatre group Shin Engi-za together with Hasegawa, and appeared in films such as Naruse's The Song Lantern (1943) and The Way of Drama (Shibaido, 1944).

[5] In 1946, in opposition to the union strike at Toho, Yamada sided with the anti-unionist group "Jū hito no hata no kai" ("Society of the Flag of Ten"), which consisted of Hasegawa, Setsuko Hara, Hideko Takamine and others.

[5] During the second half of the 1950s, Yamada's main attention shifted towards the stage,[3] but she still appeared in a number of distinguished films like Naruse's Flowing (1956), Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Twilight (1957) and Akira Kurosawa's The Lower Depths (1957) and Throne of Blood (1957).

[15] For her work on stage, she has been awarded at the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Arts Festival three times for the plays Tanuki (1974),[16] Aizome Takao (1977),[citation needed] and Daiyu-san (1983).