Original subtitles

The French philosopher Gaston Bachelard

in his book Water and Dreams, mentions that

For some human souls

water represents the substance of despair.

And like the Noah's Ark mythology,

there are myths or legends about floods

all over the world.

Yes, people have a fear of water.

You can't see inside the water from the outside, can you?

Whether it's a river or an ocean,

until you've been in the water.

You'll never know how deep it is.

You don't know what's in there.

There's always a fear of the unknown.

And the pressure of being submerged in water...

You're afraid of this?

I'm not kidding you.

The pressure of the water will slowly constrict the heart.

And the lungs will gradually be squashed.

You'll be out of breath...

This water tastes so good.

It's so good. I'll order another one.

Excuse me.

Yu-chan, have a drink too

My fear of water goes deep to my bones.

Why? Why are you so afraid of water?

Did something happen?

I'll never forget it,

It was when I was seven years old,

I had an uncle called Take,

now that we don't see each other anymore...

I know.

That uncle threw you in the water, didn't he?

He had a small fishing boat.

You were pushed overboard by him?

Pushed overboard? With a splash?

That's why you're so scared of the water.

It's not funny.

That's child abuse.

Attempted murder would be an understatement.

But that's how a lot of people learn to swim, isn't it?

Maybe there are people like that.

But not everyone is like that.

You hate natto, don't you, Miyako?

What would happen if someone forced you to eat natto?

Would you fall in love with natto?

I wouldn't. I'd rather die.

See, you can't eat natto.

It's the same as my fear of swimming.

That's why we can't go to the beach this year.

I'll go to the pool with Tomoya in the summer.

You're free to swim if you want.

I'm not going to swim, though.

You won't swim?

What you're trying to say is...

Y-o-u c-a-n'-t s-w-i-m.

Yes, I Can't Swim

5 Years Later

That's my surname.

His name is made of 3 individual kanji: Little, Bird, Play

Do you know how to pronounce it?

K-Kotoriyu?

He's pronouncing the kanji individually Ko-Little, Tori-Bird, Yu-Play

That's unfortunate.

So, does anyone know

the origin of the name "Takanashi"?

It means the little birds are able to play

because the big bird is not around.

"Big" is "Taka" in Japanese and "Nothing" is "Nashi". The two put together becomes Takanashi.

That's called knowledge.

Then there's upbringing...

And knowledge,

is the personal will to actively seek change.

Learning new things

involves changes with one's self.

For example, visiting an unfamiliar place

or tasting something you've never eaten before, is all knowledge.

It is important to gain new experiences.

Like the new academic year, the start of university life,

first lessons,

the boring subject of philosophy,

the sleepy student in the first row.

All this can be called experience.

Hello.

Takanashi-sensei.

Hi.

I bought your book

"The Father Who Danced and the Son Who Mocked"!

It's in the library.

You're wearing sunglasses. That's funny.

The designer of the book insisted I wear them.

What's that about?

By the way, we're getting married.

Nishida-kun.

Do remember what the word "Train of thought" means?

Would you like to be our witness?

Are you listening to me?

After discussing it, we've decided to ask you to be our witness.

Are you sure you want a bad role model like me,

to witness your first steps?

By the way, we're having a party.

Please, keep your train of thought.

You're coming, right?

I probably won't be able to make it.

What? You're not coming?

It's a big celebration, isn't it?

Beginners are welcome

Do you want to sign up?

Yes.

No, it's...

It's my first time, after all.

I'd rather observe first.

The reason for signing up... is to learn to swim

Yes, I do.

No problem, I'll make sure you learn.

Okay...

Thank you...

Did you come here because you saw the poster?

Yes, I did.

It's a bit embarrassing.

But it's good that they were made.

By the way, why don't you join us in the next class and try it out?

Try out? Well...I...

Did you bring your swimming trunks?

Oh, uh...

Unfortunately, I didn't.

We rent swimming trunks here.

What?

Why don't you just buy one?

You're going to sign up anyway.

Well...

Do you have the right swimming trunks?

The right ones? It's...

Well...

It's better to buy a set.

Then, a pair of trunks...

Swim cap...

Do you need goggles?

I need goggles.

I don't think you have a towel either, right?

Yeah...

That's...

This is the only one we have right now, okay?

Well, that...

What if I drown?

I'll save you.

My name is Takanashi Yuji. Please take care of me.

Nice to meet you.

How old are you, Takanashi-san?

42 years old.

What a coincidence. Same here.

Who is she kidding?

What do you do for a living? Are you married?

I teach at the university...

All right, all right. Let's get warmed up.

Okay...

Takanashi-san, please stand over there.

One, two

Three, four...

One, two...

Three, four...

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

Excuse me.

What's wrong?

I need to go to the toilet.

I should go home.

Excuse me...

Takanashi-san, hurry up and get in the water.

Huh?

No...

Hurry up!

But I...I haven't warmed up yet

That's okay.

I'm...I'm not mentally ready yet

Takanashi-san

Oh no, I forgot to wash my hands

Don't procrastinate.

Just get in the water!

Wait...wait, please don't force me.

I know, I know.

I'll get in the water when I'm ready, okay?

What is there to prepare...

Just do it.

Come on.

This isn't a hot spring.

Come on!

Oh, enough already!

That-That was dangerous!

Hilarious.

Hanabusa-san, you really shouldn't do that!

I'm sorry.

That's just bullying.

She apologized, so stop complaining.

If this was a station platform...

It would have been a disaster.

But this is a swimming pool.

No, no, no, it's no different for a pool.

I'm really sorry.

That was very inconsiderate.

I'm really sorry, Takanashi-san.

I'm sorry.

Are you afraid of the water, Takanashi-san?

Yes, I'm afraid.

Don't worry, I'm here with you.

Please trust me.

Takanashi-san, let's dip your face in the water together.

- Dip my face in the water? - Yes.

Yes. Get down with me.

No, I can't.

No, it's okay. Slowly get closer to the water.

A little more.

That's not your face, it's your chin.

Here, look.

Come on.

I can't...

Takanashi-san.

I can't do it.

There's no one who can't do it.

Yes, I am such a person.

Don't say such childish things!

Stand up! Stand up!

See? It's okay, right?

It's not okay!

It's okay.

Because whether it's you or me,

everyone here

used to live in the water.

What are you talking about? You're talking about evolution?

About how humans evolved from fish?

It's not that complicated.

Every one of us

was in our mother's womb.

Mother's womb...

What is the fetus and amniotic fluid

In the water...

Yes, please come in.

Excuse me.

Sensei, this is the marriage registration form.

Please sign it.

Oh.

I'm sorry...but I have a stupid question.

Why do I need a witness to get married?

That's a good question.

Is Sensei pregnant too?

Idiot.

"Also" pregnant?

Actually, I'm going to have a baby too.

Oh, but I'm not.

The due date is October 10th.

It seems that you both have

a witness already.

He's so scared of water that his hands and feet are tense.

What's that pose? Is it some kind of insect?

A cricket?

Did you say something?

No, I didn't say anything.

It means that when a person who can swim drowns

they choke on too much water from the struggle.

And eventually they die of fluid in the lungs.

That's when there's nothing left to do.

But a non-swimmer like me,

the cold water reflex is a phenomenon

causing obstruction of the airway and asphyxiation.

However, the chances of that happening are pretty low.

So it's better if you can't swim?

Although it is not possible to generalize

the chance of being saved is higher...

Then sensei, why do you want to learn to swim again?

if you don't want to be saved.

That's a good question.

But...

It's nothing to be scared about.

I can't, I can't!

That's great!

You've done it, Takanashi Yuji. You did it!

You look like Bruce Lee.

Takanashi-san!

You said you managed to dip your face in the water.

I can bring the water to my face.

You did it!

But I can't dip my face in water.

What are you talking about?

If it's only this amount of water,

I'd have an overwhelming advantage

even if my face was submerged.

But a whole pool of water.

I can't win.

Why do you want to "win"?

Swimming is not a battle.

You have to be close to the water, give your body to the water.

It's hard for a man to give up,

or rely on someone else.

Is that right?

- Men want to do everything themselves. - Right, right!

And even if they succeed

they'll make it look like they did it all by themselves.

I know.

When you're depressed, you're either drunk,

or you're angry at someone else.

I'm not that kind of guy.

I'm sorry.

Then give your body to the water.

Here, touch the water first.

How's that? It's like a slapping, isn't it?

It's like it's slapping my husband's stomach.

He must have eaten well!

How did you find it, Takanashi-san?

Are you getting used to it?

A little...

Then, put your heads in the water.

Takanashi-san?

Takanashi-san?

Takanashi.

It's beautiful.

That's how humans float in the water.

When you cook a radish, to prevent it from floating.

It's like that.

That's not the same thing...

It's not like you're trying to float.

You just float naturally.

It's the same as a dead body.

You mean play dead?

Well, then, try floating on your back.

Okay...

Takanashi-san, relax your body.

I'm already relaxed.

You're not relaxed at all.

You're giving me that Bruce Lee look again.

Your arms and legs are tense too.

Imitate a dead body properly.

No, that's too much to ask.

I've never been dead before.

I don't know how to imitate a dead person.

When I had my oldest,

I died about twice.

When I had my second child,

it was so horrible.

Compared to childbirth, death is nothing at all.

That's what men will never know.

That's right.

You thinking too much, Takanashi-san.

When you're dead,

you can't think about anything anymore.

But it's my job to think.

Now is not the time to work.

Forget everything about work and family.

Even your own identity.

University Professor, Takanashi Yuji, 42 years old.

Please forget all of that.

Nothingness.

Dying is nothingness.

Nothingness?

It's not about death or nothingness, is it?

You're just learning to swim, right?

Just paddle and kick and you'll be able to swim.

I envy a simple-minded man like you.

Why do you suddenly want to learn how to swim?

Is there something going on at home?

Family, huh?

About my family...

I'm divorced.

Really? When did you get divorced?

It's been a while.

She was disillusioned with me.

What about kids? I remember you had a son, right?

A middle-aged man living alone...

How sad.

I'm used to it.

Anyway, seriously.

When I meditate, I can hear the sounds around me clearly.

Just now, for example, I heard birds singing.

But it's interesting that sometimes, when it's winter

I can hear cicadas buzzing.

Cicadas only come out during summer

On a sunny day, I can hear rain falling.

Are you transcending time and space?

No, I think it's more like a memory.

Listening to the sounds of the present,

and with it, I hear the sounds of the past

Oh...

Namie-san, come on!

I'm going to kick!

Yes.

Alright, good...

Shoot!

I've got you! I've got you!

I made this from scratch!

That's great.

Right?

Junya, help me open this.

Junya eats so well every day.

That's right.

That means...

In order to swim, you have to move your arms and legs like this.

That's where the so-called "will" comes in.

You can't swim in the realm of "nothing".

By "nothing" you mean unconsciousness, right?

Come.

Consciousness and mind are the same...

By unconsciousness,

it means not thinking, right?

I think that coach is saying

swimming is the same as walking.

Think about it, when people walk

they don't think about which step they're going to take next.

It's true that when you walk you don't think about how you're walking.

But that's because the act of walking

is just a means to an end, right?

Oh, he used a difficult word "means".

Humans walk to get to their destination.

Oh.

Uh, huh.

Where were you trying to go?

He was just walking around, wasn't he?

Yeah.

Well, that's one way to put it.

That's right, isn't it?

Right? Is that right?

Yes, that's right.

Coach Shizuka.

Hello.

Takanashi-san...hello

Are you all right?

Do you need a ride?

That...not...I'm...fine...

It's...it's right there, I...I'm...okay.

Are you feeling uncomfortable?

Uhm...

Don't push yourself too hard.

I'm sorry to have worried you.

I'm...afraid to go outside.

Eh?

I was in a car accident a long time ago.

Ever since then, I've felt like a tiger-deer...

A tiger and a deer?

Tiger, horse, something?

Trauma!

Trauma in katakana is Torauma - which sounds like the words Tiger and Horse put together

That's the one.

It was a traumatic event.

Because of this trauma

I live near the pool,

within walking distance.

That's really inconvenient.

Swimming is still much easier for me.

What?

Easy?

This?

It's the opposite.

It's painful.

Relax your body a little more.

No, no, I can't do it.

I can't even breathe. It's so painful.

You're so strong and you still feel pain?

It has nothing to do with size. I feel pain too.

It's definitely hard.

Men always think they're the only ones who have to work hard.

It's not about gender, is it?

See, you're saying it's not about gender right away.

You're missing the point.

The one who is missing the point is you, Takanashi-san.

What did you come here for?

To breathe?

No...of course not that.

You're here to swim, aren't you?

Then please concentrate on swimming.

Tachibana-san, well done.

That was great.

Anyway, you're pushing too hard.

And don't keep saying you can't do it.

I'm not saying that all the time.

You are.

You keep saying it.

Listen up, everyone.

The most important thing is the direction of your palm when you change your breath.

Takanashi-san, please extend your right hand forward.

How's that?

It hurts a bit.

If it hurts.

Adjust it to a position that doesn't hurt.

Wait, wait, wait...

Relax.

Kick your legs.

I swam.

I just swam, didn't I?

I can swim!

I can swim!

I can swim!

S-swimming...

S-swimming...

Here you go.

Welcome

Oh, Namie-san?

Sensei?

What are you doing here? What about Junya?

He went to bed alone.

At home?

I work here two or three days a week.

Unfortunately, it's 776.

777 is considered a lucky number in Japan.

That's 776 yen.

Here's the exact amount.

Is Junya okay?

Yeah, he's in first grade already.

It's Junya's birthday next month.

Would you like to come celebrate his birthday?

He likes you very much, Sensei.

Yes...of course

Thanks you very much.

Yeah.

Bye.

I'm home.

That's strange...

Takanashi-san, do you want a floating board?

Yes.

Try to get it without moving your feet.

Just a little more...

Use your other hand.

Men have more muscles.

Usually you have to use brute force to stretch your hand out

But in fact, if you twist your body a little

it's more effective to use the external oblique stretch.

Housewives often do this.

Even when cleaning tight places.

Or when you have to reach for something high up.

When I feel sore, I stretch. It feels good.

It feels good.

It's easy to lose your balance when you swim by force.

You won't be able to swim smoothly.

Like Takanashi-san, you'll keep standing up while swimming.

That's why the trick to swimming is

twisting your body and extending your arms

Twist your body, stretch your arms...

Twist your body, stretch your arms...

Twist your body, stretch your arms...

Twist your body, stretch your arms...

Twist the body, stretch the arms...

Twist your body, stretch your arms...

Twist your body, stretch your arms...

Why is he standing up again?

You did breath in and out, didn't you?

Yes, I did, but it's still painful.

You didn't even exhale when you were in the water, did you?

Huh?

Do you need to exhale?

Hibari-san, you too?

I'm surprised you could swim for so long.

Why didn't you exhale?

Isn't it a waste to exhale?

Because it's hard to inhale.

I agree.

If oxygen is like money,

as much as possible,

you'd want to save it, right?

Even if you save the oxygen,

what comes out is still carbon dioxide.

Oh, right.

How about treating breathing in as borrowing money?

Exhaling is paying it back, and then borrowing some more money again.

I see.

I always swim and sing at the same time.

Singing?

Yes.

"Freude, schöner Götterfunken"

- Oh, a German song? - Yes!

Ode to Joy

For me, I'm cursing my husband.

He's such a stupid man.

And she even says it in Tsugaru dialect.

Everyone can have a different way of doing it.

Just breathe out in the water,

and you will inhale naturally.

Yes.

Singing...

Sensei, hurry up

Ah, yes...I got it

Here goes.

Why are you standing up again?

I've forgotten the lyrics.

For what song?

What comes after "I saw the little bear cub"?

"Play hide-and-seek." That's right, hide-and-seek.

"The kid who shows his butt wins the prize"

"See you tomorrow at sunset."

"See you tomorrow."

Yeah, right.

All right, all right, that's it.

Yes, that's it.

Thank you.

Hurry up and swim!

Yes.

"I saw the little bear...."

Pay off the loan...

Open your palm

Borrow some...

It worked!

Hey, stop standing.

I managed to breathe.

So that's it... I have to sing...

For example,

when it comes to swimming,

we definitely cannot learn to swim by

reading a paper on swimming.

For you to really understand what swimming is

you have to jump into the water and experience it for yourself.

Good morning.

Sorry, I fell asleep.

It's rare to see you awake, Higure-kun.

Thank you.

I've been meaning to ask you since before.

Why did you take my class?

Sensei, what do people live for?

That's a question you should ask in my class during the day.

I'm sorry.

So...

I'll give you a topic to think about.

"What do people live for?"

Cheers.

"The kid who shows his butt wins the prize"

I'm home.

"See you tomorrow at sunset."

"See you tomorrow."

"I envy, I envy..."

"I envy you..."

"The delicious food and the hot white rice"

"Are waiting for the children to come home"

"I'll go home, too. I'll go home."

"Rolling, rolling, somersaulting, goodbye"

Dad, come here.

Welcome home.

Daddy stinks of booze.

Mum's angry.

Wait till I'm in first grade.

When I'm in first grade...

Daddy, buy me Lego to play with.

August 2010

I'll try my best

Wait, Tomoya!

It's really dangerous!

It's not dangerous!

No, the river is dangerous.

You can't go beyond here, okay?

Yes.

Dad, play skipping stones with me.

What?

You don't know how to skip, do you?

It's my first time playing, after all.

Then I'll try.

Be careful!

I guess you should choose the rocks carefully

Yu-chan, help me bring the stuff down.

I'm coming.

Pick a lighter and flatter stone like this.

Then you'll be able to skip it on the water.

I got it.

Takanashi-san.

Takanashi-san?

Takanashi-san?

Yes?

Was he asleep?

Do you know where the center line of the body is?

It's the center line, right?

From the surface it appears as two-dimensional line,

but you're three-dimensional, right?

Yeah, sure.

Sort of.

So where's your three-dimensional center line?

Three-dimensional?

How many dimensions am I in?

Three-dimensions, of course.

When standing upright

connect the top of your head to your ankles,

with a single line

That's the center line.

So it goes through the butthole.

How vulgar.

Excuse me...

Although I understand it intellectually.

But I can't feel it physically.

Then please jump in place and see.

- Jump? -Yes.

Yes. This is the center line stretch position.

Please be aware of this position when you swim.

Uhm...

What is it?

The other day you were talking about twisting your body

to stretch the external oblique muscles, right?

Takanashi-san, the way you swam last week

is not the same as today.

That's why my words will change.

You can't swim exactly the same as last time.

You can't go back in time.

That's true.

I wish I could go back.

Give your body to the water.

Go straight ahead without any thought.

Twist your body, stretch your arms

Repay the loan, flip the palm

Twist your body, stretch your arms

Borrow again...

Give your body to the water

Keep your mind straight

No thought, no thought.

Twist your body and stretch your arms

Repay the loan...

Dad, buy me Lego to play.

Flip your palm...

Twist and turn...

Don't stand up!

What?

Hey stop that.

Uhm...

What do you think about when you swim?

Nothing.

Then what were you thinking about, Sensei?

I was thinking about what Coach Shizuka said.

But I don't think my body can keep up.

You know, Coach Shizuka

told us not to think about anything?

She wants us to swim with empty heads.

But when I swim, I keep thinking

"Oh, what did Shizuka-san say?"

or something like that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's what it means. It just pops into my head.

You think of it?

That's right, isn't it?

Sometimes the coach's voice pops into your head, doesn't it?

The things you remember

will also be forgotten by you.

But, Takanashi-san

You have an almost compulsive mind,

you always want to remember everything, don't you?

That's true.

After all, learning is very important.

If you forget, it's meaningless, isn't it?

You know, swimming is supposed to be

like walking or riding a bike.

It's all about memorizing procedures.

So it's just a matter of practicing over and over again.

Well, if you put it that way.

By the way, Kamoshita-sensei.

Is it easier to remember

past memories underwater?

Well...

While swimming, the eyes, nose and ears

are muffled in the water.

So it might be easier to trigger introspection.

Plus, swimming is the right kind of exercise

that increases the production of dopamine.

Increased dopamine leads to better nerve transmission

I see.

What's wrong? Did you remember something when you were swimming?

I heard voices.

I thought I heard my son Tomoya's voice.

Well...what kind of voices?

At first it was the sound of his newborn cry.

Then as he grew,

I began to hear his laugh.

Or the sound of him calling to me or Miyako

The sound of him playing.

The sound of him acting or singing in the kindergarten.

The sound of his voice running around the park.

And the sound of his voice at the school sports day.

The sound of his voice

singing happy birthday songs...

Tomoya would always call out to me.

"Daddy, teach me how to skip"

After I taught him how.

And then Tomoya said he understood...

You still can't remember what happened next?

Yes...

But...

Somehow, I'm scared to think about it.

Even if you don't remember, you still have to get on with life.

Yes...

But not remembering, makes me unable to move on, it seems.

Your persistence just won't let it go, huh?

I'm not that impressive.

It's just...

Forgetting the important things and moving on with life,

just seems cruel.

Why don't you take a lighter view of life?

No one but you

can live more like you, Takanashi.

Welcome.

Sorry for making you wait.

Would you like a cold sake?

Yes, please.

It's been a long time.

It's been a long time since I've heard from you.

I guess you forgot about me.

Maybe a bit.

We used to be so close.

But after the divorce, you became a stranger right away.

You're still the same, though.

Thanks to you, I've changed a lot.

No, you haven't.

But, you lost a bit of weight?

No... I've been exercising lately, by the way.

What kind of exercise?

Swimming...

Only now?

I bet you're glad you divorced me, aren't you?

You must be thinking "This woman is a real pain in the ass."

That's not true.

I'm so sorry.

Don't be.

I've decided to remarry.

Is that so, well...congratulations.

Thank you.

When did you learn to swim?

I've only just started, actually.

Why do you want to learn how to swim?

Is it because of someone you like?

Someone with kids, I think.

How...how did you guess?

You're definitely going to protect them this time, aren't you?

No...it's not like that.

Then why?

It's just...

There's no reason. I just want to learn.

No reason?

That's the first time I've heard you say that.

You can't do something for no reason.

When I was at my worst...begging you to cry with me.

You wouldn't even do that.

Back then,

why couldn't you just cry with me for no reason?

Did the Sensei take the day off too?

School teachers are not absent for no reason.

Did he skip class?

Unexcused absence, hehe.

I'm not laughing.

Bearded seals inhabit the northern hemisphere.

The main habitats are the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

In Japan, they can be found in Hokkaido.

Male seals are around 170cm long

Females are around 160cm in length

In addition to fish

they also eat squid, octopus, shrimp and other

crustaceans and even shellfish.

As babies, they are covered in white fetal fur...

Hello.

This is Usuhara.

I'm sorry I didn't contact you first.

Don't be too quick to apologize.

Because I have a lot more to say.

I'm really sorry.

I've been worried about you since last month.

I'm sorry.

Takanashi-san

I told you from the beginning, right?

I'm definitely going to teach you to swim.

You haven't learned how to swim yet.

Yeah, well...

I learned to swim when I was four.

That makes me jealous.

I signed up for swimming lessons right away.

But it was only fun in primary school.

After that, swimming was a pain.

So after high school,

I gave up swimming.

I haven't swum at all since I graduated.

What?

But...

I told you about my car accident, right?

Yeah.

It happened when I was 23.

I broke my pelvis and couldn't even walk.

When I was in hospital, I was worried about my future

and cried a lot.

But one day, I dreamt I was swimming.

When I woke up, I suddenly wanted to swim.

I absolutely had to get my body to being able to swim.

I'll never forget

the feeling of entering the pool again after a long absence.

The moment I dipped into the water

I felt joy in every cell of my body.

It was because of that joy,

I was able to get through my rehabilitation.

I hope you can feel the same joy.

Will I...

be able to feel it too?

That's why I'm working so hard.

Trying to figure out what to say so you'll understand.

What to do to make you learn to swim.

Every day I think about it.

I hope I can make you swim better than you did yesterday.

I hope I can make you enjoy swimming more tomorrow.

Takanashi-sensei.

Life goes on

right until the moment of death, right?

Yes, it does.

I hope that in your long life,

you get to feel the joy of swimming.

Swimming is great.

It's wonderful.

I will teach you all this,

so Takanashi-san, please respond to my sincere intentions.

I understand.

I'll be waiting for you tomorrow.

My knee hurts.

I've got a cough.

I ate too much yesterday.

My tooth hurts.

When you don't feel well,

don't force yourself to swim.

I'm sorry...I came here to swim.

and now you won't let me swim?

Especially Takanashi-san

please don't try to swim.

Even if you want to swim

you'll just overexert yourself and not swim well.

Everyone, imagine yourself as a fish.

Twist your waist.

I have a question.

Where is the waist of a fish?

You're supposed to swim as if you were a fish.

That's right

Question.

But a fish has fins. It's not the same as a human body.

Fish don't swim with their fins.

They swim by swaying their bodies.

So I'll think of myself as a snapper.

Then I'll be a halfbeak.

You're not even close to anything like a halfbeak, right?

The Japanese halfbeak is a small slender fish.

Okay, then I'll be a penguin.

A penguin is not a fish.

Penguin is good.

Penguins have more trouble on land.

Then I'm a frog.

What's Takanashi-san going to be?

Well...

I want to be a seal.

Very well. Go on, seal.

It's no use telling me not to swim deliberately

Is that how you swing your waist?

It's so relaxing.

Is that what a seal feels like?

Seems like a good idea to be reborn as a seal in another life.

I'm sorry.

You did it, Sensei.

Congratulations, you've swum 25 metres.

Look.

Come on, wave to the coach.

Did I really do it?

That's great...

That's great...

I did it!

The discomfort makes you relax and not overexert,

making you sway naturally.

Takanashi-san.

Welcome to swimmer's club!

Sensei.

About the topic you gave me last time...

"What do people live for?"

Yes.

After you asked me that question,

I went and read the book by Sartre and others

I suddenly felt I had asked a stupid question.

It wasn't stupid at all.

But I did think about it.

People...

I think it's because we discover something new every day,

which is why we're alive, right?

Yeah.

It doesn't matter how small it is.

Like having a bad lunch this day.

Or seeing the person you like...

Or not sleeping in class today?

I think what makes a human being alive

is the anticipation of these discoveries.

To look forward to something.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

I'm gonna blow.

That's great.

You can swim now?

Yes, but only for 25 meters.

- You're a great Sensei. - Oh, it's nothing.

So... let's go to the beach in the summer?

By the sea? I want to go to the beach.

-Right? Do you want to go to the beach? -I want to go... I want to go...

Going to the beach seems a bit impulsive.

And I don't even know how deep the sea is...

It's not a problem.

Seawater is more buoyant than a swimming pool.

You can swim, can't you?

Well...sort of.

Okay, let's go to the beach then.

What should I buy?

Beach balls...

Seriously...

It's here.

I usually put the quilts away.

Thank you for your help, Sensei.

Mum...

We...

haven't even held hands yet

Sensei.

You're very good at taking care of children.

No, no...

Actually...

I have to apologize for something.

Before...

when we were talking about my divorce.

You asked me if I had any children, right?

Yes.

And I said...

I didn't.

More correctly, he's not around anymore.

I...

had a six-year-old son called Tomoya.

Five years ago, in the summer holidays

we went on a family trip together.

It was August 3rd.

There was a river next to our destination.

Tomoya...

It seems that when I wasn't looking,

he fell into the river.

But...

I don't remember anything about it.

I heard that I jumped into the river after him.

But I didn't know how to swim.

I was just swept away and hit my head on a rock.

That's what happened.

I'm sorry...

I don't know.

It's all right.

You don't need to apologise, Namie-san.

Sensei,

is that why you took swimming lessons?

Sensei...

Do you really want to be with me?

When you look at Junya,

won't it hurt?

No, not really.

Sensei, I...

know it's painful.

So it doesn't matter if you don't want to think about it.

I have things I have to admit to you too.

But I won't tell you yet.

Because I don't want to think about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, please don't deliberately put your arms forward.

Don't twist the body and stretch the arms?

Because you're already at a level higher than that.

You're evolving every day

I see.

The point is not to stretch your arms forward

It's about swinging your arms outwards and stopping at the highest point

And then you let your arm fall naturally.

It's about not being aware of your movements, right?

You don't have to think about it so seriously.

You don't have to think about how to learn to swim or how to move forward.

Instead, you just swim naturally.

You don't even realize you're moving.

It's like life.

That's right, you don't think about living.

It's a natural way of living.

And try not to resist the water.

Start with your fingertips.

Go straight ahead without any thought.

Repay the loan

Flip the palm, borrow another...

Swing your arm out from the side and drop it naturally...

Repay the loan...

Swim without thinking.

Move ahead like a seal...

Without a thought.

No thoughts, no thoughts.

Flip the palm, borrow another...

Swing your arm out from the side and drop it naturally...

-I'll try it. -Flip the palm, borrow another...

No thoughts...

No thoughts, move ahead.

It's like dying...

Swimming is like dying.

That's wrong, that's wrong.

No thoughts.

Takanashi-san?

Are you all right, sir?

- Line up the floats - Yes

Yu-chan.

What is this place?

The hospital.

Hospital?

You were swept away by the river and...

What's wrong?

He's regained consciousness.

The river?

Takanashi-san has regained consciousness.

Vital signs are stable.

Where's Tomoya?

Oh.

He's at school...

Eh?

Isn't it summer vacation?

Tomoya!

Tomoya...

Tomoya...

Tomoya...

Tomoya...

Tomoya!

Miyako?

I came back as soon as I could.

But everything was shaken down.

The Lego that Tomoya made is broken too.

I'll fix it.

Yu-chan.

Why aren't you crying?

Why am I the only one?

I'm the only one who's in pain.

It's painful.

I'm in pain too.

That's a lie.

You're just suffering from memory loss.

That kind of thing doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter if you can't remember.

How can it not matter?

Tomoya...

It happened right in front of my eyes.

And I don't remember it at all.

I have no right to be a father.

Yu-chan.

You...

When you see Tomoya's face,

don't you feel sad?

Of course I do!

Then just cry already!

Come on, cry!

Cry with me!

Feel the despair with me.

Let him lie on his side!

Sensei!

Are you all right, Takanashi-san?

I can't...

Ever since Junya's birthday,

I've been thinking about it.

I guess I knew it would come to this.

I'm sorry...

I'm not in a position to be responsible for anyone's life.

Selling this house,

is like selling Tomoya's memories too.

When we got divorced,

you asked me to leave everything behind.

I'm sorry.

Are you ever going to remember?

You used to be so close.

Perception,

and the connection to memory

Things that are perceived are remembered

Things that are not perceived are not remembered

It is impossible to remember something that is not perceived

And the inability to remember what has been perceived

It means that it is impossible to remember what has been remembered

and not remembering what has been known.

So even if there was a memory,

if you can't remember...

That's all for today.

Hello?

I'm sorry to call you so late.

No, it's okay.

I'm sorry to ask you out of the blue.

Can you look after Junya for me tomorrow afternoon?

What?

I don't have anyone else to ask.

Well...

But...

Mum should come too.

We'll talk about it another time.

Let me do it.

Be good and listen to Sensei.

Okay.

I'm counting on you.

I'll take good care of him.

See you later. Bye.

Is there anywhere you'd like to go?

The beach.

You can't go in the sea yet.

It's okay if you don't.

Junya!

Junya!

Junya-kun!

Don't go near the sea!

Promise me!

Sensei, I can swim.

Not even if you can swim.

Even if you can swim, you might drown.

Drowning... means you die?

Drowning...

means you'll disappear.

If you disappear, Mum will be very sad.

Because then she'd be all alone.

I know.

Would you be sad if I disappeared too?

Yes.

I'd be sad.

I'd be very sad.

You can go back to sleep, Junya.

I'll take you home.

It's okay. I'll call a taxi.

But...

Junya, wake up, come down and walk by yourself.

I went to see Coach Shizuka today.

Coach Shizuka?

I heard you drowned?

It happened once.

Are you going to give up swimming?

If you give up swimming...

Are you going to give up everything else?

Carry me.

No.

Coach Shizuka will be waiting for you tomorrow night.

"I saw the little bear cub play hide-and-seek..."

Good evening, Takanashi-san.

Good evening.

The pool is nice at night, isn't it?

Yesterday...

I heard about Tomoya from Namie-san.

I don't have children.

So I can't say I understand your feelings.

But I think you're very honest.

Honest?

I'm not honest at all

Takanashi-san.

You don't seem right today.

You've acting very nihilistic.

Nihilistic?

Shizuka-san.

Do you even understand the word "nihilism" that you just used?

You must not have even read Nietzsche.

What's the matter? All this sudden anger.

Nothing.

I'm just telling you that I'm not honest.

I'm a cowardly, selfish scumbag.

Why do you have to be so hard on yourself?

Because that's how it is.

I'm afraid to swim and I'm afraid to remember Tomoya.

I can't go forward and I can't go back.

Do you think that being so hard on yourself

will redeem you?

That's rude!

Don't run away!

You have to swim now.

Since you can't go forward and you can't go back

You'll just have to go upwards.

Takanashi-san.

Do you know the origin of the word "rehabilitate"?

It comes from Latin.

It means "to restore to your former self"

As expected.

Swimming is also a great exercise for mental rehabilitation.

Shall we?

It's like you can't see inside the water from the outside world.

You can't see the outside world from the inside water either.

It's a different world under the water than it is above it.

A different world?

So when you're in the water,

let's forget the outside world.

Let's forget everything together.

Even if we don't sing, we can still breathe out.

The arm swings out from the side and falls naturally...

Suddenly I feel hungry.

That's true.

I had curry last night.

I...ate rice balls.

Give yourself to the water.

Keep the center line straight.

When I first met Miyako,

it was also about the central line.

"The Father Who Danced and the Son Who Mocked" A Philosophical Perspective of a Father and Son by Takanashi Yuji

The design I want

is a central line drawn from the middle.

Excuse me, but who ordered the China Blue?

Here.

Here's your coffee.

The area on both sides of this line should be the same...

You actually measured it?

Yes...because it matters to me.

Then I noticed that the right side of the line is 7.3cm

The left side is 7.5cm...

But it looks like it's right in the middle, right?

It looks like it is.

but to be accurate...

Do you think my eyebrows are flush in a straight line?

Yes.

Wrong! It's actually uneven.

Even if it's not flush, it still looks flush.

Even if it's not right in the middle

it can still look like it's in the middle

And then we fell in love.

And then Tomoya was born.

Dad, look, I'm great, right?

You don't know how to drift, do you?

It's my first time after all

Then I'll try.

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Yu-chan, save Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Dad!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!

Tomoya!!

Tomoya...

called me.

You can cry as much as you want in the water.

You don't need to wear goggles when you cry.

"See you tomorrow at sunset."

Coach Shizuka?

I can't...I'm scared to death.

What's wrong? Why did you come here?

I couldn't get in touch with you at all.

It's been a month since you moved.

I'm sorry.

Takanashi-san.

What are you afraid of this time?

Huh?

You've learned how to swim.

You remembered what happened to Tomoya too.

Even so, you can't move forward?

Everything about Tomoya,

isn't it all in your heart?

Please go with Tomoya.

With Tomoya?

I'll wait for you.

It's not just me, everyone's waiting for you.

Swimming is a lot like living.

But it's still different after all.

Do you understand?

To swim, you can swim alone.

But to live...

The house hasn't been sold yet?

That's right

Yu-chan, why don't you just buy it back?

Huh?

I'll keep the ones I want first.

I'll let you choose the rest.

This is you.

It's small, but I think it's you.

I...

always felt I had to apologise to you.

Knowing that you already blamed yourself enough

and I kept pushing you.

No.

It's just that I was useless.

No, you're not.

I was the same.

At the time...

If I hadn't asked you to bring down the stuff,

Tomoya might not have...

I've always regretted it.

But...

I ignored my own problems on purpose.

That's was mean of me.

Thank you.

But I'm...

someone else's wife now.

And this. I already took the money out.

Dad, Mom...

Miyako...

For giving birth to Tomoya,

thank you.

Junya, close the blinds.

Yes.

What do you want to eat today?

Curry.

Curry?

Oh, Sensei!

Are you still open?

Please sit down.

I haven't had a haircut in...

It's been two months.

Please just cut it as usual.

Uhm...

Can I come back again?

You're free to do so.

Be my guest.

No, I mean, Namie-san.

Could you wash my hair all the time, from now on?

Huh?

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

I won't forget Tomoya again.

But I don't want to live in the past either.

Namie-san,

I love you.

Namie-san,

and Junya, together.

I love you both.

I thought you'd given up...

I want us to be a family.

Didn't you say you liked Sensei too? Right?

It goes through your butthole, right?

That's right.

Oh, that's unexpected.

It's been a long time, Sensei.

Hello, everyone.

Don't be a stranger.

Come on, get in the water

No...I want to warm up first.

He had diarrhea when he first came.

He cried when I pushed him into the water.

I didn't cry.

Sensei, come on!

Please don't do this.

Takanashi-san, come into the water.

Okay.

Coach Shizuka...

I was a difficult and irritating student.

Of all the students I've ever taught,

you're definitely the toughest.

That's for sure.

I'm so grateful that I learned to swim.

I can't thank you enough.

Takanashi-san,

can you enjoy swimming now?

Yes.

Then let's start with a 50-meter swim.

Can you do it, Takanashi-san?

Yes.

I can do it.