After leaving Waseda University, where he had become affiliated with left-wing groups, he joined the Shochiku film studios in 1933, where he worked as an assistant director to Mikio Naruse.

[2][3] During World War II he directed the propaganda films Winged Victory and Hot Winds[1][4] before being drafted and sent to China.

[8] In the 1960s, Yamamoto again worked for major companies like Daiei and Nikkatsu, directing films like Band of Assassins (1962), The Ivory Tower (1966) and Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967).

[citation needed] Yamamoto won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director for Shōnin no isu and Nippon dorobō monogatari (both 1965).

Ivory Tower was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it was awarded the Silver Prize.