Kagawa was born in
Hiroshima. He graduated from the 46th class of the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, ranked 53rd out of 124 cadets. He served as
midshipman on the
cruiser , and as
ensign on the cruiser and
destroyers and Susuki. After his promotion to
lieutenant, and tours of duty aboard the
battleship and cruiser , Kagawa attended advanced navigational training courses at the
Naval War College (Japan). On graduation and after promotion to
lieutenant commander in 1930, he was assigned as chief navigator on a number of ships, including the cruisers and , and battleship
Fusō. He received his first command — the destroyer — on 16 November 1936. He then was captain of the destroyer and
executive officer of the cruiser . Kagawa was promoted to
captain on 15 October 1941, and after a series of staff positions, was appointed commander of the 31st Destroyer Group (Desdiv 31) on 12 February 1943. Kagawa's group consisted of the destroyers (
flagship), , , and . During the
Battle of Cape St. George on 26 November 1943,
Onami was sunk and Kagawa was
killed in action. He was posthumously promoted to
rear admiral. == Sources==