Kinoshita Yoritsugu served as a bushō and daimyō during the Azuchi-Momoyama period.  Yoritsugu is considered to be the second son of Ōtani Yoshitsugu, or else the nephew or adopted son.

Along with his father and older brother, Yoritsugu served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was granted a fief of 25,000 koku in Echizen Province.  He was conferred the title of Governor of Yamashiro.

Yoritsugu was cherished by Hideyoshi and permitted to adopt the Kinoshita surname.  Under another theory, he inherited the Kinoshita surname from Kinoshita Yoshitaka.  With respect to his real name, it is surmised that he received the character of “Yori” from Hideyoshi’s son, Toyotomi Hideyori, and the character of “Tsugu” from Yoshitsugu.

In 1600, at the Battle of Sekigahara, Yoritsugu joined his father and older brother to serve on behalf of the Western Army.  He was assigned over 700 soldiers by his father and fought against Maeda Toshinaga at the gateway to the Hokuriku Region.  At the main Battle of Sekigahara, Yoritsugu combined with Toda Katsushige and Hiratsuka Tamehiro to halt a betrayal attack by Kobayakawa Hideaki who was positioned on Mount Matsuo.  The defense, however, collapsed in a pincer attack following further betrayals by Hokuriku forces including the Wakizaka, Akaza, Kutsuki, and Ogawa.  Just before Yoshitsugu took his own life, he directed the forces under his command to depart the battlefield, whereupon Yoritsugu fled and went into hiding in Echizen Province, but was said to have died of illness that same year.  Under another theory, he was killed at Sekigahara.