Ochiai was born in what was then Motoyoshi County, Mutsu Province, as the second son to Ayukai Tarō Tairamorifusa (鮎貝太朗平盛房), a high-ranking retainer of the Sendai Domain.

His adopted father's research took him to Ise, where he studied in the Jingū Kyōin (神宮教院; later to become Kogakkan University).

From 1889 onward, he taught at various academic institutions including Dai-ichi Kōtō Chūgakkō (第一高等中学校) and the Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (the predecessor to modern Waseda University).

One of his students at the Dai-ichi Kōtō Chūgakkō was the tanka poet and calligrapher Saishū Onoe.

In 1889, he joined Mori Ōgai in forming the literary society Shinsei Sha (新声社), and in August of that year they jointly translated and published the poetry anthology Omokage (於母影) which was to have a significant impact on contemporary Japanese poetry.