Generally, his stories involve Japan and examine the moral choices that people make in extreme situations.
Kaiji's daughter Nirako is an illustrator, while his eldest son Kōhei is a Kanze noh actor.
[2] In 1968, Kaiji made his professional debut with Yoru ga Aketara in Young Comic at age 21, while still attending Meiji University.
[3][1] Kawaguchi was influenced by Shinji Nagashima, Tatsuhiko Yamagami's Hikaru Kaze, and Tadao Tsuge.
[1] In the middle of serializing Hard & Loose (1983–87), Kawaguchi started drawing the eyes of his characters bigger.