The Tawara family had been making soy sauce and candles in Hamada for generations.

He graduated from the law department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1895, and became an official in the Home Ministry.

His first was Okinawa, where he was instrumental in writing laws on land reform and establishing a tax system, bringing the former Kingdom of the Ryukyus closer to legal assimilation with mainland Japan.

After his term expired in April 1931, he continued to play an important role in the Diet and in the general administration of the Rikken Minseitō.

As with all other Japanese politicians, Tawara was forced to join the Taisei Yokusankai created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe in 1940.