Kawamura led his Imperial Guards Division in the First Sino-Japanese War and went to the front in Taiwan as field commander.

On the conclusion of that war, he was ennobled by Emperor Meiji with the title of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system.

In January 1905, being promoted to General, he was appointed Commander of the Japanese Fifth Army and took part in the Battle of Mukden.

After the war, Kawamura served as chief of the Tokyo Garrison, and in 1915 he became a field marshal.

His daughter married Hideyoshi Obata, who served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.