Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Nakahata Sojin (his given name is Nakahata Yukio) taught himself the art of watercolor at an early age and won recognition for a work entitled "Town in sunset" in 1930 at the Japan Watercolor Exhibition. In 1938 he went to Tokyo and there began to paint in oils. His painting entitled "Horses returning" was the prize winner in the 1953 exhibition, Issui kaiten. In 1964 Nakahata made the first of frequent trips to Europe and the United States. He was particularly interested in the Baroque painters, most notably Rubens.

Initially a landscape painter, after the war Nakahata devoted himself to painting horses, an example of which is offered here. He exhibited work in many Tokyo exhibitions, including the "Modern Japanese art exhibition" and the "Horse artists of the world Exhibition".