When he was a child his parents taught him to read the Chinese classics, the Four Books (The Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and Mencius).

He established an institute of Asian studies and insisted on the traditional nationalism of Japan when Taishō democracy was in vogue (1912–1926).

Fumimaro Konoe, Kōki Hirota and other influential figures joined, but the group came to be perceived as an eminence grise, leading to its end after two years.

He was a brilliant student; however, he skipped classes when he was at Tokyo Imperial University in favor of reading books at the library.

Among others influenced by him, some through his books and others personally, were Isoroku Yamamoto, Masaharu Homma, Yukio Mishima, Yashiro Rokuro, Chiang Kai-shek, sumo grand champion Futabayama, and Eiji Yoshikawa.

The GHQ ordered the dissolution of his previous groups and schools, and Yasuoka himself was purged on the ground of his involvement in the Ministry of Greater East Asia.

On August 12, 1945, Hisatsune Sakomizu, the chief Secretary of the Cabinet, visited Yasuoka at his house and asked him to audit the Surrender Rescript.