Kagawa started playing football in kindergarten and was chosen as a selected member for his hometown of Kobe in fourth grade. After graduating from elementary school, he attended a football program in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. He played for the FC Miyagi Barcelona junior youth team while attending junior high school. In 2005, while in 11th grade, Kagawa signed a provisional contract with J.League’s Cerezo Osaka, and he joined the team the next year in 2006. In 2007, he secured a place as a regular member and became a core player for Cerezo Osaka. In addition to representing Japan on its U-19 team, he skipped a section to play on the Japan national U-23 team in the Beijing Olympics, and in 2008 he was selected for Japan’s senior team.

In the 2010/11 season, he transferred to Borussia Dortmund in Germany’s Bundesliga. He played a major role for the team, including being selected as an MVP, and significantly contributed to Borussia Dortmund’s two consecutive victories in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons. In 2012, he transferred to Manchester United in England’s Premier League, making his taking part in the winning of the 2013 league championship the first such achievement by a Japanese player. In 2014, he played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil on the Japan national team wearing ace jersey No. 10. In September 2014, he returned to Borussia Dortmund in Germany’s Bundesliga. He subsequently transferred to Beşiktaş in Turkey’s top league, to Real Zaragoza in Spain’s second tier league, and then to PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece’s top league. He transferred to Belgium’s Sint-Truidense V.V. for the 2022 season and continued to constantly challenge himself overseas. In February 2023, he returned to Cerezo Osaka after twelve and a half years.