Kaneto Kawamura was born in 1893 in an indigenous community in Hokkaido, Japan. During this time, environments surrounding indigenous communities in Hokkaido was dramatically changing due to the new slogan proposed by the new government. One of them were industrial revolution and construction of railways was done all over the country. Kaneto Kawamura was highly interested and motivated in job of measuring for construction of railways. As an engineer, he was involved in extremely challenging projects. However, discrimination against indigenous communities was present, and the several workers opposed to work for him. Overcoming these challenges, he lead the project successfully.

In addition to accomplishing these projects, Kaneto was also involved in preserving the cultures of the indigenous communities. As a result of industrial revolution lead by the new central government, large population was moving from the mainland Japan to Hokkaido. This triggered community, since most outsider visited the community just for interest. Instead, Kaneto built a memorial hall for indigenous cultures, using the money he earned from the job.