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Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are currently receiving significant attention amid an ever-growing global antibiotic resistance crisis. In tandem, a surge in the availability and affordability of next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies has driven the deposition of a wealth of phage sequence data. Here, we have isolated a novel <i>Escherichia</i> phage, YF01, from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Yokohama, Japan. We demonstrate that the YF01 phage shares a high similarity to a collection of thirty-five <i>Escherichia</i> and <i>Shigella</i> phages found in public databases, six of which have been previously classified into the <i>Kuravirus</i> genus by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Using modern phylogenetic approaches, we demonstrate that an expansion and reshaping of the current six-membered <i>Kuravirus</i> genus is required to accommodate all thirty-six member phages. Ultimately, we propose the creation of three additional genera, <i>Vellorevirus</i>, <i>Jinjuvirus</i>, and <i>Yesanvirus</i>, which will allow a more organized approach to the addition of future <i>Kuravirus</i>-like phages.