Nakae was born in Osaka Prefecture on 20 October 1898. In 1944, she and her family were evacuated from Osaka City to Hiroshima due to intensifying air raids.

After the war’s end, Nakae was very poor. She ran a fruit and vegetable stall every morning, and did so until she was 80 years old. Her husband, Kumajiro, died in 1974.

Nakae moved into a nursing home in 1998, after her eldest daughter, who was also her caregiver, became ill. She had a wide range of hobbies, including karaoke, which she took up aged 75, and a lifelong enjoyment of Japanese dance. She would also take the train to visit her son at the age of 100.

At the age of 110, Nakae could still walk without assistance. On 4 January 2011, aged 112, she became Hiroshima’s oldest living person after the death of Komiya Miyazaki.

Nakae died in a hospital in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, on 19 August 2011 at the age of 112 years, 303 days. Her successor as the oldest living person in Hiroshima was Mitsue Nagasaki (1899 – 2013).