Niwa Kawamoto was born in Japan on 5 August 1863. Converted from the old calendar to Gregorian calendar her date of birth was on 17 September 1863. She was the Guinness World Records’ Oldest Person since the death of Mito Umeta, also of Japan, on 31 May 1975. She was also the oldest Japanese person ever at the time of her death. She was also the only person who was age 113 in the 1970s.

Kawamoto died in Azumikawa, Shiga Prefecture, Japan on 16 November 1976 at the age of 113 years, 103 / 60 days. At the time of her death, she was either the third or fourth-oldest person ever. She remained the oldest person ever from Shiga Prefecture until Mina Kitagawa surpassed her final age in 2019.