KOMOISM
How will you live your one life?
KOMOISM is the core of what Sumiko Kokonno has drawn out of her own life and out of conversations with thousands of people. It is not a method for succeeding. It is an answer to a different question: how will you live the one life you have?
- 01
Live honest to your own heart
Doing what society calls correct and doing what your heart says are not always the same thing. Which one you follow is yours to decide. I was told to “be normal” my whole life. The day I let myself be honest, my life started moving.
- 02
You can change how you see your life
You cannot change what happens to you, but you can change how you look at it. When I was told I had cancer, I had no choice in the matter. But how I saw that experience — that was mine to choose. Everything started from noticing it.
- 03
Of course people are different
You do not have to fix someone who is unlike you, and you do not have to match them. A difference is not a defect; it is the shape of a person. The day I stopped living in comparison was the day I began to actually use my own life.
- 04
Do not give up on your life
Five months after surgery, I set off from Peking for Paris. Not “can I do it”, but “will I do it”. Reasons to quit are endless — you can always find one. I think the people who find life interesting are the ones who take the step anyway.
- 05
Just take one more step
You do not have to rebuild everything perfectly. You do not have to change it all. One step today is enough. From wherever you are, the next step is available. Repeat it often enough and one day you look up and you have come a long way.
- 06
Keep handing people courage, hope and a smile
“Always moving forward, laughing, whatever happens” — I learned that this is what the friends and supporters around me received from me. So I laugh in any situation. A smile is contagious, and it can change somebody's day.
- 07
Hold your own steering wheel
A life someone else drives looks easy, but you never know where it is heading. Even when it is frightening, even when you lose your way, hold the wheel yourself — because then you can tell whoever comes after you what the view was like.
08 — The question
Is your life burning beautifully?
This is not encouragement. It is not “try harder”.
It is a quiet, honest question, addressed to you.
- Are you living by your own heart, rather than by the correct answer society hands you?
- Are you using your own life, rather than measuring it against someone else's?
- Can you take one more step today, rather than finding a reason to stop?
“Yes. It is burning.” The day that answer comes is the day your life begins.
“I got ill, I had surgery, and there was no end of things that did not go my way — but I lived asking myself: could this experience be useful to somebody?”
— Sumiko Kokonno / KOMO
Archive
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234 pieces, written between 2022 and 2024. The 28 days of the Peking–Paris run are best read from the map.
Read a series straight through: Peking to Paris, 14,500 km (28 days)· Cancer, with a smile (19 pieces)· The Sahara Challenge (21 pieces)
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Race reports123
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Day 28 — One thread of light in the despair. Do prayers get through? -
Day 27 — Any means necessary: getting ahead of disaster -
Day 26 — Crossing into Türkiye against despair and the limit -
Day 25 — The Georgian border, and the psychology of an ordeal -
Day 24 — Azerbaijani dirt roads and a car on fire -
Day 23 — Wrestling with a workshop in Azerbaijan, and sneaking onto an F1 circuit -
Day 22 — Across the Caspian into Azerbaijan, and a surprising workshop -
Day 21 — An hour by the Caspian, and another border ahead -
Day 20 — Coming back from heatstroke - Day 19 — Extreme adventure: the hard fight across Kazakhstan
- Day 18 — Into the middle of nowhere with no fuel
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Day 17 — Past my limits, and what the Kazakh land had waiting -
Day 16 — The moment fear turns to anger: getting out of Kazakhstan - Day 15 — Past 5,000 km, and a brief day off
- Day 14 — Dancing saved the day: China into Kazakhstan
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Day 13 — Historic classic cars and the warmth of the people of China - Day 12 — A herd of cattle, and temperatures at both extremes
- Day 11 — Conquering the mud: the fight to reach Ürümqi
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Day 10 — Storm, bad road, and a sunset that looked like hope -
Day 9 — Running the rough ground of the Gobi -
Day 8 — An elegant hour in Dunhuang, and briefly a star in China -
Day 7 — Maintenance and strategy for surviving a long rally - Day 6 — Reunion against the odds, and the desert
- Day 5 — Determined to rejoin the main convoy
- Day 4 — A miraculous revival: the pre-war Buick runs again
- Day 3 — Retirement crossed my mind, and I cried where nobody could see
- Day 2 — They were not working for money. There was love in it
- Day 1 — A turbulent start
- The beginning of something huge — Day 1: arrested on the start ramp of a five-year dream?
- An adventure beginning in Peking’s heat: the final preparations, 17 May
- The entry from England arrives — a Chinese licence and the rest of the preparation
- Old friends and good food to charge the batteries: three days to the start
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Trouble before the start: overcharging, the wrong hotel, no taxi -
Peking to Paris 2024 — we finished, and thank you -
Taking on the crossing after cancer surgery — in the Akita Sakigake Shimpo -
A last message — 14 May 2024, on setting off - Fighting breast cancer and bad roads — in the Tokyo Shimbun
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Live or die? Seven vaccines as risk management -
Resolved, amid the fighting — towards the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge - Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2024 — from complete amateur to driving Monaco, vol. 3
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Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2024 — the road to a win without compromise, vol. 2 -
Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2024 — I say yes to everything, vol. 1 -
Shipping trouble — attacks in the Red Sea. What happens to the start? - Preparation on a budget: an improvised radiator jug
- In the thick of it — four weeks until the car ships to Peking
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The mechanic’s report is in — will the car make the ship to Peking in time? -
Preparing for 37 days: the kit (tents) -
Sahara Challenge, day 12 — the finish without a car: on seeing a thing through, and a finale that moved me - Sahara Challenge, day 11 — past the limit, still heading for the finish (with video)
- Sahara Challenge, day 10 — retiring is no reason to sink; keep going
- Sahara Challenge, day 9 — I retired
- Sahara Challenge, day 8 — the decision to retire closes in
- Sahara Challenge, day 7 — a wooden wheel destroyed. Can it come back?
- Come back to life — can a pre-war classic really be revived? Part 2
- Come back to life — can a pre-war classic really be revived?
- The brave of the world gather: the Peking to Paris entrants’ meeting
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Out of trouble — giving up on giving up -
Trouble: the competition car is gone -
Peking to Paris 2024 — October report -
Landed at Haneda — thank you, thank you, thank you ✨ -
Peking to Paris in danger, again -
Gran Premio Nuvolari 2023 — to the finish -
The pre-event, and a reunion after five years - The Nuvolari pre-event
- Gran Premio Nuvolari 2023 — race report
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The official photographs from Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti 2023 have arrived - A trophy abroad: Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti — day 3
- Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti — day 2
- Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti — day 1
- A quiet moment before the rally — Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti 2023
- Back to the Dolomiti rally in Italy after six years
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Coppa di Kyoto 2023 — a chaotic run to a class win -
18 May 2023: exactly one year until Peking to Paris -
The start date we had been waiting for is announced - Sahara Challenge, day 6 — is craftsmanship the same everywhere?
- Sahara Challenge, day 5 — a day right across the Sahara
- Sahara Challenge, day 4-2 — abducted in the middle of a world rally?
- Sahara Challenge, day 4-1 — towns, mountains, desert
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Gruppo 100 Rally 2022 — a special prize for driving with a smile - Sahara Challenge, day 3 — out of nowhere, the most beautiful rainbow (with video)
- Sahara Challenge, day 2 — crossing the border on board, Spain to Morocco (with video)
- Sahara Challenge, day 1-2 — crossing the border on board, Spain to Morocco
- Sahara Challenge, day 1-1 — Spain and Morocco: here we go
- The Sahara Challenge — another strange journey already? Part 2 (with video)
- To the Sahara Challenge — 22 hours of travel to Spain, part 1
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Splendore Ikaho — a much-loved classic car rally -
Warm-up two: the twelve-day Sahara Challenge — costs and currency -
A smile connects the world — what you need to meet people at a rally abroad -
Peking–Paris warm-up, part 2: on to the Sahara Challenge -
The English warm-up — the fight that starts at the finish -
England, the Summer Trial — day 3: to the finish -
England, the Summer Trial — day 2: how the British compete -
England, the Summer Trial — day 1: learning from failure -
Warm-up in England — happily penny-pinching for the sake of one rally - A hundred-year-old car: the challenger — a restoration past ¥17 million
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Warm-up 1 — entering the Summer Trial -
June 2022: the new route is announced -
Coppa di Himeji 2022 — the digest -
Mille Miglia 2020, Italy — part 5: the parade the day before the start (with video) -
Mille Miglia 2020, Italy — part 4: scrutineering (with video) -
Coppa di Himeji 2022 — part 3 -
Coppa di Himeji 2022 — part 2 -
Coppa di Himeji 2022 — part 1 -
Mille Miglia 2020, Italy — part 3: into Italy at last -
Mille Miglia 2020, Italy — part 2: will they let us in? -
Mille Miglia 2021, Italy — part 1: quarantined in France -
Mille Miglia 2020, Italy — part 1: setting off in the middle of a pandemic -
La Festa Mille Miglia 2019 — race report, part 1 -
Rally Challenge 2022, Akitakata — my first SOS -
Vecchio Bambino, autumn 2017 — I found my people -
Japan Classic Tour 2017 -
Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti 2017 — my first rally abroad -
Vecchio Bambino 2017 — the first one, and it changed my life -
Stella Alpina 2021, Italy — part 1 (with video) -
Mille Miglia 2021, Italy — the reversed route that changed history -
Coppa di Koumi 2022 (with video) -
Feelings travel any distance — negotiating face to face in England -
The car we chose, out of respect for Peking to Paris -
Taking the international Class C & Class R licences -
Winning abroad — the glory of holding a foreign trophy -
The warmest rally practice day in the world -
Splendore in Tokyo 2022 -
A driver needs whatever it takes to keep going to the final day’s finish
Full throttle85
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ご挨拶〜北京パリモーターチャレンジ、無事に完走しました〜 -
Treasure that leaves no trace — what the rally taught me matters most -
A gathering of love beyond burnout, part 1 - The brave return: sharing courage and hope at the celebration
- The treasure of meeting people — better than 14,500 km alone, 14,500 people taking a step
- Taking on the crossing after cancer surgery — in the Akita Sakigake Shimpo
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Behind the dream — the months of stacked-up early morning shifts - Fighting breast cancer and bad roads — in the Tokyo Shimbun
- Once you commit, your luck begins to change
- Something new: doukei — support with nothing asked in return, for people chasing a dream
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KOMO travels — go where you want while you are alive: a guide to Da Nang, Vietnam -
KOMO’s legs and KOMO’s head — are foolish people the lucky ones? - KOMO’s legs and KOMO’s head — what I hold to in living
- Happy new year 2024 — the year it finally starts
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KOMO travels — good food is not enough: three times the fun with Izushi soba, Hyōgo -
KOMO travels — Spain, part 2 - KOMO travels — Spain, part 1
- A nice body, for you — a Christmas gift
- The blog starts again
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A world first: personality psychology that reads pets too -
The dream of taking personality psychology abroad starts moving -
Declaring myself a three-day quitter -
Off to Vietnam -
Things to talk about when you are abroad -
Home like a storm ✈ — what going out into the world teaches you -
I hope what I feel reaches you -
The chance is now: the “do it at once” rule -
What I had to realise before it worked — choosing to set everything else aside -
It is not only the future you can change — the past shifts with who you meet -
From no experience to radio presenter? The show with the guest you cannot miss -
Looking back on ten years, I had been driving the world — making a dream map -
Every life has hours that go unrewarded — and a lift from Nishino’s speech -
Fashion abroad and how it differs from Japan — is clothing a way back to your own values? - The Sahara Challenge — eating something remarkable in Málaga, part 4
- The Sahara Challenge — exploring Málaga, Spain, part 3
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What a neurodevelopmental diagnosis taught me about acceptance and living -
A doctor saves a patient’s heart: the letter that came from God -
Mother and daughter — the shape support takes -
The secret to raising a child: be their head cheerleader -
How you live, how you relate — is the deciding factor pleasure or discomfort? -
Neurodivergence is genius — accepting yourself through the medical data (with video) -
How a plea to the gods gets answered — let your local deity take a liking to you -
You were born to be happy -
Clearing out the mind — what I learned from the thought that I was finished - Impatience is the real source of anxiety — clearing the irritation and getting more done
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For anyone who does not know how to live -
What is the definition of a successful person? -
How to change a life — stack up small challenges -
The death of the climber Nobukazu Kuriki — what was he challenging for? -
On a day when nothing goes right, try the fire ritual — Fukagawa Fudōson -
Analogue, warm-hearted crowdfunding — and how old my wonderful supporters are -
Community work? Young people, keep the morning exercises going -
Fumiaki Nakamura’s “university of connection” — live big on the people you meet -
No summer fatigue: two-minute cooking to get you through -
Buying parts once you are abroad is a mistake — bring them from Japan -
Where is Japan heading? Petrol in England is ¥380 a litre -
English time? When exactly does the bus come (with video) -
Driving with everyone — a birthday of memories, not things -
The day before flying to England — this, now, the day before? -
The strength of odd people — living as yourself -
Trust and cheer rather than worry -
Come and drive the world with me on the live stream -
Thinking about life and death -
Fight! — a word of encouragement to myself, right now -
What prayer really is — a wish made with love -
A first for Japan — a night of fierce women - What matters when you step into something you have never done
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The first Japanese to run the Paris–Dakar — on changing the way you live -
Matsuri — Japan lets its energy off the leash, and carrying the shrine beats watching it -
When the wall of difficulty turns into a door -
Let it be a racehorse gone mad -
The road to a funded campaign, part 1 -
A malignant cancer, arriving in the middle of the challenge -
The person who opens the first path -
Because the world you see changes: lighting the challenging spirit -
Putting what you feel into words is hard -
Poor? No — the best life there is -
Losing is not the end. Quitting is -
Satellite link — 37 real days I want to send back to Japan -
Above the clouds it is always clear -
Conflict, nerves, a fight — life turns into a race - What turning down a publishing audition taught me
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On being allowed to hear someone’s story -
乳癌で片胸を失った私 北京パリ14,000kmモーターチャレンジ2024～人生にチャレンジする全ての人達の支えに -
Telling a bad friend from a true one
Cancer, with a smile19
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Facing my life, heading for hope — going into treatment looking forward - Why I entered a proportion contest after losing a breast to cancer
- Wanting to give someone a push — cancer and challenge, in the Asahi Shimbun
- Taking on the crossing after cancer surgery — in the Akita Sakigake Shimpo
- Fighting breast cancer and bad roads — in the Tokyo Shimbun
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 13: courage after breast cancer, and a proportion contest
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 12: love and technology, and how breast reconstruction has moved on
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 11: a new chest, a journey to a new me
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Cancer, with a smile — vol. 10: cared for by my son. Letting yourself lean is parenting too - Cancer, with a smile — vol. 9: keloid skin, and why the tape matters
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 8: moving and working are not the same thing
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Cancer, with a smile — vol. 7: easing the shoulders after a mastectomy - Cancer, with a smile — vol. 6: a conversation with God under anaesthetic
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 5: the day I was admitted
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 4: back for the post-operative tests
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 3: it was not neuralgia, it was cancer
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 2: never ignore a bad feeling about your doctor
- Cancer, with a smile — vol. 1: this diary begins
- A malignant cancer, arriving in the middle of the challenge
Motorsport7
- Fighting breast cancer and bad roads — in the Tokyo Shimbun
- About the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, part 2
- Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti — a close look at the rally
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Twelve days in Spain and Morocco: what the Sahara Challenge is - About the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, part 1
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What is the difference between a race and a rally? Enjoy motorsport by knowing it (with video) -
Five classic car rallies to watch in 2022
Crowdfunding6
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