Career
She was associated with Garo. Frederik L. Schodt regarded her work as particularly important because of the feminist message, rare in shōjo manga. Yamada also influenced Hinako Sugiura and Yōko Kondō, her former assistants.
She debuted in COM in 1969, and had formal art training prior to being a manga artist.
She taught at Kyoto Seika University"s Faculty of Manga. She once ran for a seat in Japan"s House of Councillors as part of the Chikyū Club political organization in 1989.
She died at Kyoto Hospital on May 5, 2009, aged 60, from undisclosed causes.
