BIOGRAPHY

Kiyo Komatu (小松きよ) was born in Kuroshima Village (now Wajima City), Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on 27 January 1911. She was the eldest of five children, with four younger brothers, and was the daughter of a chief fisherman.

In her late 20s, she married a man from her hometown who was the same age as her. The couple moved to Tokyo for her husband’s work. During World War II, she evacuated with their daughter to her parents’ home in Ishikawa Prefecture. Her husband was killed in action. After the war, Kiyo remained in Ishikawa for about five years before returning to Tokyo, where she raised her only daughter on her own. Later in life, Kiyo lived with her daughter and her family after the birth of her grandchild. She spent some time in Osaka but eventually settled in Saitama, where she has lived ever since.

A skilled dressmaker, she was often asked by her neighbors to make kimonos, a craft she continued until her 50s. In her later years, she devoted herself to supporting her daughter and her family, staying busy with household chores, shopping, and caring for her grandchildren while her daughter and son-in-law were at work. She continued these activities well into her 80s.

At the age of 109, she broke her femur, but after two weeks in the hospital and a month of rehabilitation at home, she recovered enough to climb stairs again. Now, at 113, she still lives at home with her family without the need for nursing care. Remarkably, she continues to climb the stairs to the second-floor bathroom. She eats three meals a day with her family, personally holding and using her own bowl and chopsticks, maintaining a high degree of independence in her daily life.

Komatsu fondly recalls the excitement of trying tomatoes for the first time in her youth, and she continues to eat her favorite tomato every morning without fail. While she takes medication for blood pressure, she has no other chronic conditions or serious illnesses.

RECOGNITION

On 26 August 2024, following the passing of 114-year-old Hisako Shiroishi, she became the oldest living person in Saitama Prefecture, at the age of 113 years, 212 days.

Her age was verified by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), as well as Yumi Yamamoto and Marco Wikkerink, and validated by LongeviQuest on 24 September 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

(The biography of Mrs. Kiyo Komatsu was compiled entirely through interviews with her family.)

GALLERY