[7] Apart from his academic studies, he participated in kendo, skiing, swimming, tennis, and track running.

[7] Nakayama entered Takushoku University in 1932 to study Chinese language,[3] and began learning karate under Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka (also known as Gigō).

[3] By the time World War II began, Nakayama had attained the rank of 2nd dan.

[1] In May 1949, Nakayama, Isao Obata, and other colleagues helped establish the Japan Karate Association (JKA).

[1][4][7] Funakoshi was the formal head of the organization, with Nakayama appointed as Chief Instructor as he was the only one without a job and they needed someone to open and close the dojo during the day.

[1][3] Students of the large JKA dojo (training halls) subsequently achieved an unmatched series of tournament successes in the 1950s and 1960s.

[3] In 1972, Nakayama, with some help from one of his students, Hirokazu Kanazawa, set up a personal dojo in the basement of his apartment building, naming it "Hoitsugan.

[3] Nakayama continued teaching Shotokan karate until his death on April 15, 1987, in Tokyo, Japan.