Born on January 2, 1971 in Osaka, Uchiyama took piano lessons during his youth. He became more passionate about music in high school and learned about the fundamentals of music theory. When he entered college, he started composing music for his friend’s independent movies and gained understanding about producing music for visuals. Simultaneously he played piano in an R&B band at various popular clubs. After leaving college, he sought full-time work as a musician and was recruited to the sound team of Capcom in Osaka during 1995. Debuting as the arranger of the Saturn port of Mega Man X3, he considerably fleshed out the musical content of the original.