Yonezawa Domain
Yamashita was the second son of a samurai in the service of the Yonezawa Domain and was born in the castle town of Yonezawa, Dewa Province (present day Yamagata prefecture). Yamashita graduated from the 10th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1883, ranked 4th out of 27 cadets. His classmates included Katō Sadakichi.