During her studies at Dokkyo University, Yoshiyuki developed a love of film.[3] She debuted as an actress in the pink film genre in 1993 in director Toshiki Satō's Petting Lesbians: Sensitive Zone (ペッティング・レズ 性感帯, Petting lez: seikan-tai).[4] By the time of her directorial debut three years later, she had appeared in over 100 pink productions.[1][3] Among the prominent pink film directors she has acted for is Satoru Kobayashi, the director of the first pink film, Flesh Market (1962). She appeared in Kobayashi's Erotic Ghost Story: Female Ghost in Heat (色欲怪談 発情女ゆうれい, Shikiyoku Kaidan: Hatsujo Onna Yurei) (1995), starring AV idol, Nao Saejima.[5] The mainstream Yokohama Film Festival awarded Yoshiyuki with the Best Supporting Actress title for her work in director Akio Jissoji's Rampo Edogawa adaptation, The D-Slope Murder Case (D坂の殺人事件, D-Zaka no satsujin jiken).[4][6]
In 1996 Yoshiyuki directed her first pink film, Chronic Rutting Adultery Wife (まん性発情不倫妻, Mansei hatsujō furin-zuma).[7] At the Pink Grand Prix she was given a Best New Director award for her debut work, as well as the second place for Best Actress. The film was selected as the 10th best pink release of the year.[8] Since then, films directed by Yoshiyuki have often been placed in the top ten. Her talents as a screenwriter were also awarded at the 2004 Pink Grand Prix for the film Housekeeper with Beautiful Skin: Made Wet with Finger Torture (美肌家政婦 指責め濡らして, Mihada Kaseifu: Yubizeme Nurashite).[9]
Anglophone pink film authority Jasper Sharp contrasts Yoshiyuki's style with that of well-known female pink director Sachi Hamano. Calling her directorial style "softer and gentler" than Hamano's, which he characterizes as "lewder, ruder and cruder than most in the genre," he notes that it is easier to detect a feminine sensibility in Yoshiyuki's work. In her films she often depicts the lives of ordinary women in modern Japan. While this is not an unusual theme in the contemporary pink film, Yoshiyuki's work is recognisable for the meticulous and authentic detail the director achieves.[10]
Yoshiyuki's directorial work has also been recognized by non-pink audiences. In 2004, her film Aspiring Home Tutor: Soiled Pure Whiteness (憧れの家庭教師 汚された純白, Akogare no katei kyōshi) was invited to be shown at the Yūbari International Fantastic Film Festival.[7] Her 2006 film, Big Tit Sisters: Blow Through the Valley, under the title Three Rules to be a Witch (魔女になるための３つのルール, Majo ni naru tame no mittsu no rūru), was also invited to be shown at the festival, and Yoshiyuki attended as a guest.[11][12][13] Also honored by the pink film community, Big Tit Sisters was chosen as the 7th Best Film at the Pink Grand Prix ceremony,[14][15] and the Walkerplus film site named it the sixth best pink film of the year.[16] Her 2004 film Just When I Need You Most (せつないかもしれない, Setsunaikamo shirenai), besides winning 5th best pink release at the Pink Grand Prix, was shown at the 13th Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.[7]
1994 Pink Grand Prix: Best Actress, 4th place for 不倫妻 一夜の快楽
1995 Pink Grand Prix: Best Actress, 2nd place for (Big Lecher Girl (ドすけべ母娘, Dosukebeoyako)
1996 Pink Grand Prix: Best Actress, 2nd place for Chronic Rutting Adultery Wife
1996 Pink Grand Prix: Best New Director, 2nd place for Chronic Rutting Adultery Wife
1997 Pink Grand Prix Best Director, for Sisters Donburi: No Pulling Out (姉妹どんぶり 抜かずに中で, Shimai donburi: nukazuni nakade)
1999 Yokohama Film Festival Best Supporting Actress for The D-Slope Murder Case (D坂の殺人事件, D-Zaka no satsujin jiken) and Daikaijū Tōkyō ni arawaru
2004 Pink Grand Prix, Best Screenplay for Housekeeper with Beautiful Skin: Made Wet with Finger Torture (美肌家政婦 指責め濡らして, Mihada kaseifu: yubizemenurashite)
Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 298, 367–368. ISBN978-1-903254-54-7.
