Hachidai Nakamura was born in Qingdao, Republic of China, to Japanese parents,[1] before moving to Kurume at a young age, where he attended high school.
Nakamura extensively played piano during his high school days, where he was invited to perform with local dance band "Yasuhiko Taniguchi and Premier Swing", and "The Red Hat Boys", a student jazz combo.
He worked closely with lyricist Rokusuke Ei and many of his songs were popularized by singer Kyu Sakamoto.
He wrote the music of the popular Japanese song "Ue o muite arukō," released in 1961 in Japan.
The song was released in the United States under the name "Sukiyaki" in 1963, peaking at the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100.