At age 19, he became the youngest judoka in history to win the open category of the All-Japan Judo Championships in 1977.

Kani Basami had been a legal move until the match, but the seriousness of Yamashita's injury caused officials to prohibit its use in international competitions.

In his only appearance at the Olympics, Yamashita tore a right calf muscle in the preliminary match against Arthur Schnabel.

The match witnessed a remarkable fair play act from Rashwan who did not aim for Yamashita's right leg.

[6] Yamashita remained undefeated in both domestic and international competitions, though he drew several matches with two-time Olympic gold medalist Hitoshi Saito.

After suffering from numerous injuries throughout his career, Yamashita decided to retire from competitive judo on June 17, 1985 at only 28 years of age.

Yamashita served as an instructor for numerous organizations before becoming the International Judo Federation's Director of Education in September 2003.

His presence as the head coach of the Japanese judo team was felt when he strongly protested the controversial decision in a match between David Douillet and Shinichi Shinohara at the 2000 Summer Olympics.