Born in Tokyo, Yamada started his music education at Tokyo Music School in 1904.
He studied there under the German composers August Junker and Heinrich Werkmeister In 1910, he left Japan for Germany where he enrolled at the Prussian Academy of Arts and learnt composition under Max Bruch and Karl Leopold Wolf and piano under Carl August Heymann-Rheineck, before returning to Japan in late 1913.
He travelled to the United States in 1918 for two years.
During his stay in Manhattan, New York City, he conducted the temporarily-organized orchestra, members of the New York Philharmonic and the New York Symphony, soon before their amalgamation.

Yamada left about 1,600 pieces of music.
Especially, songs (Lieder) amount to 700 pieces of music excluding songs for schools, municipalities and companies.
They were performed and recorded by many singers which include Kathleen Battle, Ernst Haefliger and Yoshikazu Mera.
His opera Kurofune ((black ships) is regarded as one of the most famous Japanese operas.
His work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

As a conductor, Yamada made an effort to introduce many orchestral works to Japan.
He was the first performer in Japan of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Dvořák's Symphony No.
9, Gershwin's An American in Paris, Mosolov's Iron Foundry, Sibelius' Finlandia, Shostakovich's Symphony No.
1, Johann Strauss II's An der schönen blauen Donau, and Wagner's Siegfried Idyll.

Jacques Ibert's Ouverture de fête was dedicated to the Japanese emperor and government for the 2,600th National Foundation Day in 1940 and premiered under the baton of Yamada.

Yamada died at his home in Tokyo of a heart attack on 29 December 1965.
Born in Tokyo, Yamada started his music education at Tokyo Music School in 1904. He studied there under the German composers August Junker and Heinrich Werkmeister In 1910, he left Japan for Germany where he enrolled at the Prussian Academy of Arts and learnt composition under Max Bruch and Karl Leopold Wolf and piano under Carl August Heymann-Rheineck, before returning to Japan in late 1913. He travelled to the United States in 1918 for two years. During his stay in Manhattan, New York City, he conducted the temporarily-organized orchestra, members of the New York Philharmonic and the New York Symphony, soon before their amalgamation.
Yamada left about 1,600 pieces of music. Especially, songs (Lieder) amount to 700 pieces of music excluding songs for schools, municipalities and companies. They were performed and recorded by many singers which include Kathleen Battle, Ernst Haefliger and Yoshikazu Mera. His opera Kurofune ((black ships) is regarded as one of the most famous Japanese operas. His work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
As a conductor, Yamada made an effort to introduce many orchestral works to Japan. He was the first performer in Japan of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, Gershwin's An American in Paris, Mosolov's Iron Foundry, Sibelius' Finlandia, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, Johann Strauss II's An der schönen blauen Donau, and Wagner's Siegfried Idyll.
Jacques Ibert's Ouverture de fête was dedicated to the Japanese emperor and government for the 2,600th National Foundation Day in 1940 and premiered under the baton of Yamada.
Yamada died at his home in Tokyo of a heart attack on 29 December 1965.
Kōsaku Yamada