A Japanese Child’s Dream to End All Wars
FOOD FOR THOUGHT, 4 Aug 2025
Gary Corseri & Mako Kumano – TRANSCEND Media Service
My 10-year-old third cousin-in-law, Mako Kumano, was assigned a composition subject in her 5th grade class:
“If you were to be reborn, what would you be and what would you like to do?”
With the assistance of Mako’s 3rd cousin, Yoko Kagawa, I read most of Mako’s work with a smile, and then with poignant sadness, I read the rest of her short composition.
I think it is an especially appropriate composition for the “Food for Thought” section of Transcend Media Service, with its goal of “Solutions-Oriented Peace Journalism.”
Mako’s consideration of the thing she would “like to do most” if reincarnated, brought a tear to my eyes, thinking about the preciousness of children and how we can assist and encourage them, and, also, about how too many children are suffering in our mad, contemporary, “adult” world.
Kindly consider:
“If You Were to Be Reborn: What Would You Be and What Would You Like to Do?”
by Mako Kumano
The alarm clock was ringing at a volume a hundred times louder than usual. I jumped up and opened my eyes to find an alarm clock a hundred times louder than usual. It seemed I had been reborn as a fairy.
The first thing I want to do as a fairy is to sneak into a cake shop and taste all the cakes. Because, I’m a “master gourmet” who has a sweet tooth!
The next thing I want to do is to become a police-dog fairy. This is a job where I catch criminals like a police dog. I attach a GPS to my body, sneak into the criminal’s pocket, and tell the police officer where the criminal is!
There are other things I want to do, too. I want to travel on the back of a bird, talk to natural treasures, and talk to various creatures.
There are many things I want to do, but the thing I want to do most is to stop wars! I will sneak into the bedside of the leaders who are starting wars and persuade them to stop the wars! When that happens, I will use Commander Conan’s “bow-tie voice-changer” to move the leader’s heart by using the voice of the person the leader trusts and respects the most….
The alarm was ringing at its usual volume. I jumped up and opened my eyes, and there was a normal-sized alarm clock. It seemed that I had been reborn as a human. Then, I heard my father’s and mother’s voices, calling me from the kitchen.
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Mako Kumano lives in Tokyo, Japan. She loves to write, play the violin, and is now studying ballet.
Gary Corseri is a world-traveler, currently in Japan, a former professor in the US and Japan, widely published.
Tags: Anti-war, Food for thought - Editorial cartoon
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 4 Aug 2025.
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2 Responses to “A Japanese Child’s Dream to End All Wars”
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Dear Mako,
What a beautiful dream! Peace in the World comes from such dreams. I truly understand those cakes! Yes! Cakes are never bad! A great first dream. And did you really become a fairy??? Fairies can do so very much magic!! Please stay so and dream a lot! And you are now “A Master Gourmet” with a sweet tooth. Only one tooth, or more?
Oh! A police-dog Fairy! I had better not write or talk too much!!! I’m not a criminal, but I am also not friends with Police D0gs! Even though they seem to not bite.
You have so many plans for birds, treasures and creatures. You must have a very good dream imagination! Congratulations!
Your most important wish is, of course, TO STOP ALL WARS! That would also be your BEST WISH — IT IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT WISH!
I hope I can meet you some days up in the Clouds! Good and wide places are there for you to dream!
Happy Dreams!
ROBERT
GARY,
HOW WONDERFUL!
DROP ME AN EMAIL LINE AND LET ME KNOW HOW THINGS ARE FOR YOU AND YOKO.
PEACE MASK PROJECT IS ALIVE AND WORKING IN (HOPEFULLY) EVERYBODY’S MINDS, CURRENTLY BUSY . . . .
WISHING WELL TO BOTH OF YOU. LET ME KNOW HOW LIFE MOVES ON . . . . .
ROBERT