Born in Yasugi Town (Yasugi City), Shimane Prefecture in 1890, Kawai entered the Ceramics Department of Tokyo Higher Technical School (now Tokyo Institute of Technology) in 1910, and was deeply impressed by the works of Bernard Leach the following year.
After graduating from the same school in 1914, he entered the Kyoto Municipal Ceramics Laboratory, where he became acquainted with Shoji Hamada, and in 1920, he opened the Shokei Kiln on Gojozaka, Kyoto, and devoted himself to production, holding his first exhibition the following year. Around this time, he became deeply interested in the folk art movement of Muneyoshi Yanagi through Shoji Hamada, and eventually became one of the central figures in the movement. In 1929, he was selected to participate in the 1929 Inten Exhibition and the 1931 Teiten Exhibition, and in 1937, he exhibited “Large Jar with Design of Grass and Flowers in Iron Cinnabar” at the World Exposition in Paris, winning the Grand Prix and becoming one of the top ceramic artists in the world. He also traveled to Korea and China. In 1957, he received the Grand Prix at the Triennial Exhibition in Milan for his “Flat Vase with Floral Design and Diamond Shape. He died in Kyoto in November 1966 at the age of 76.
