Career
He was also commonly known as Komatsu Tatewaki (小松帯刀). Komatsu ruled the fief of Yoshitoshi, which was a part of the Satsuma Domain. Appointed karō in 1862, he held high office in the Satsuma domain until its dissolution in 1871.
Komatsu was also a descendant of the Sengoku-era samurai Nejime Shigenaga.
Komatsu Tatewaki was born the fourth son of Kimotsuki Kaneyoshi of Kiire (5500 koku) who were high-ranking Satsuma retainers. His birth name was Kimotsuki Kaneshige He was adopted by Komatsu Kiyomichi as a young man, and inherited the headship in 1856, immediately after his adoption and became Komatsu Kiyokado (Tatewaki)
Komatsu became a karō in the service of Shimazu Tadayoshi, the daimyo of Satsuma, in 1862.
He was the official advocate of low-ranking men such as Ōkubo Toshimichi. He also helped shelter Sakamoto Ryōma.
In the first few years of the, Komatsu served as an official in the imperial government.
While in Kagoshima, Komatsu fell ill and died in 1870.