Through swimming, I wanted to reclaim our pride as Japanese people.

I wanted to prove that the Japanese, too, could compete with the world.

Umami is not a complex taste. It is a simple one.

-- Kikunae Ikeda

Concentrate your attack on a single point. Do nothing that is wasteful.

-- Oda Nobunaga

In all the ways of war, nothing surpasses unity. He who attains unity can advance and retreat alone.

-- Wu Qi

I shall dedicate myself utterly, giving everything until death claims me.

-- Zhuge Liang

Diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.

-- Frederick II of Prussia

No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.

-- Horatio Nelson