Uchiyama was born in Nagasaki Prefecture’s capital city of the same name on 27 February 1907. She studied English at a girls’ school in Tokyo. She was married and had three daughters, but raised them alone after she was widowed aged 38.

At the age of 104, Uchiyama moved into a nursing home in Tomachi, Nagasaki City. To celebrate Keiro no hi in 2014, she was visited by the city’s mayor and presented with a blanket, among other congratulatory gifts. Accompanying her were her three daughters and two granddaughters.

Throughout her life, Uchiyama had several hobbies, including cooking and knitting. She was said to have a talent for knitting due to her dexterity. She regularly produced garments for her daughters.

Uchiyama’s daughter Fumiko remembered her mother teaching her English. She recounted, “She [Uchiyama] would hold an English book in one hand, and a dictionary in the other.”

Uchiyama died in her nursing home on 28 July 2019 at the age of 112 years, 151 days.