[1][2] He began drawing manga in the fourth grade, and developed an interest the history of post-occupation Japan before studying at the Osaka University of Arts.
[2] Yamada cites among his early influences the films of Shoichi Ozawa;[3] left-wing literary works by Ryusuke Saito [ja], Miyoko Matsutani, Akiyuki Nosaka, and Komimasa Tanaka;[4][3] historic news photography published by Mainichi Shimbun;[1] Fujio Akatsuka's Introduction to Manga;[2] and the television series Ōedo Sōsamō.
[4] In 1991, Yamada made his debut as a manga artist, writing and illustrating a dōjinshi about comfort women.
[5] In 2010, Yamada contributed artwork to "FACE TO REAL", an art series organized to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Japan.
[6] Areyo Hoshikuzu, Yamada's first long-form manga series created for a general audience, was serialized in Comic Beam from 2013 to 2018.