what is kamikaze?

Answer 1

Kamikaze (Japanese: 神風; kami = god, spirit kaze = wind) is a word of Japanese origin, which in the English language usually refers to the suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan, against Allied shipping, in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II.

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze

Answer 2

As has been said Kamikaze means the wind of the gods. And, again as has been stated it is the name given to the suicide pilots of world war two.

What hasn't been said is where the phrase originally came from. Back in ancient Japan there was a problem... Mongolia was invading. Japan had no real way of defending themselves as the Mongols had cavalry and the Japanese had none at the time. So, when the Mongolian fleet encountered a huge wind storm which basically destroyed them the Japanese named it the wind of the gods and believed that the Kami (gods) were protecting their island. they invoked the name again in world war two because it was believed that the emperor was in fact a god and those who did his bidding could be as the sacred wind the ultimate protectors of japan.

Answer 3

Kamikaze is a word of Japanese origin, which in the English language usually refers to the suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan, against Allied shipping, in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II.

These attacks, beginning in 1944, followed several very significant and critical military and strategic defeats for Japan, its decreasing capacity to wage war along with loss of experienced pilots, and the Allies' increased ability, due largely to the industrial capacity of the United States and Japan's reluctance to surrender.
Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa hit the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (see picture right).
Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa hit the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (see picture right).

In these attacks Japanese pilots would deliberately attempt to crash their aircraft into naval vessels and other ships. Sometimes laden with explosives, extra bombs, and carrying full fuel tanks, their objective was to stop the Allied advance towards the Japanese home islands by causing as much damage and destruction as possible. Kamikaze attacks of this kind were the most common and best-known, however the Japanese made wider use of — or had plans for — suicide attacks by other Japanese personnel, including suicide torpedoes, boats, submarines (see Japanese Special Attack Units).

Since the end of the war the term has sometimes been used as a pars pro toto for other kinds of attack in which an attacker is deliberately sacrificed. These include a variety of suicide attacks, in other historical contexts, such as the proposed use of Selbstopfer aircraft by Nazi Germany and various suicide bombings by terrorist organizations around the world, such as the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In English, the word kamikaze may also be used in a hyperbolic or metaphorical fashion to refer to non-fatal actions which result in significant loss for the attacker, such as injury or the end of a career.

Answer 4

Kamikaze means "divine wind" in Japanese and refers to the practice of suicide bombing in the Pacific arena of World War 2.

After the fall of Saipan in July, 1944, Admiral Takijiro Onishi, commander of 1st Air Fleet in the Philippines, created the Special Attack Groups of suicide dive-bombing pilots known as kamikazes. Young men were inspired to volunteer as they wished to die for their country. Pilots were trained in just over a week to fly their modified Mitsubishi A6M fighters.

The first kamikaze attack on enemy warships first took place in the struggle for the Philippines in 1944. Kamikaze pilots aimed at the central elevator on carriers and the base of the bridge on large warships. As they had to fly at low altitudes they were very vulnerable to anti-aircraft guns.

During April 1945 kamikaze pilots under Admiral Soema Toyoda launched 1,400 suicide missions as part of Operation Ten-Go. It is estimated that these suicide pilots sunk 26 ships during this campaign. More than 2,000 kamikaze missions were also flown against the US fleet at Okinawa (April-July 1945). By this time the US Navy had learnt how to deal with kamikaze attacks and few ships were hit.

Kamikaze pilots continued to be active until the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Admiral Takijiro Onishi, commander of the Special Attack Group, committed suicide when he heard that Emperor Hirohito had surrendered.

Answer 5

Some will say "Divine Wind"...others will say the Japanese suicide bombers...

I think it should be defined as the birth of Modern Terrorism via Fascism. The indiscriminate bombing of Hitler's early "Scud" type rockets was just the usage of a deadly weapon by Fascism.

When zealotry is added to Fascism, the ultimate birth is the suicide martyr...the man whose life is designed for sacrifice...

Realize that self-sacrifice for the common good is the code of Marx, Jesus, and the root of the issue - this is the reason Ayn Rand felt Altruism was the enemy of the world...for it leads inevitably to Hitlers, Stalins, Maos and Hiro Hitos and Bin Ladens.

Answer 6

Devine Wind

Answer 7

God wind, origin of japanese language/culture.
The word became famous in world war two, when "kamikaze fighters" were ordered by their superiors to die with honour and crash their planes into american and allied warships.

In the world war two sense It basically means suicide attack.
And they did this by ramming their planes into american warships and guaranteeing they died and went down with honour.

Answer 8

Hi,
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The game is drawn for the World War 2 and includes the most famous battles that happened during this time.
It's surely the leader game of its type.

Answer 9

KAMIKAZE is the GOD OF WIND for the japanese. In the PHILlPHINES IIS A ROCK BAND \m/

Answer 10

Brave Japanese Pilots...
Single line explaination: FIRST GENERATION OF THE GUIDED MISSILE!!! (the US WASN'T the one who created the guided missiles)