A picture of the "Divine Wind" [2]
Pilots prepared for a kamikaze attack [3]
Its really fascinating to me whenever I think about this. Looking at it seems like a desperate last attempt by the Japanese to win an unwinnable war, but at the same time these people are bound by an ancient honor system that gives them courage. After checking out more books in the library, expect to see more this week.
[1]"kamikaze." Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Credo Reference. Web. 30 September 2013.
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MokoShurai.jpg
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A6M5_52c_Kyushu.jpg
Adam,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but wonder why a young man would become a Kamikaze. Slowly it crept through my thick skull that very few countries are the meritocracy we are supposed to be, especially in the Military. Moving from a private to an officer happens all the time here. In Japan, back then, it just didn't happen. But to rise at the age of 18 to be a captain in the royal Japanese Navy, and to be a war hero, honored your family almost beyond belief. Also, is you figure you're dead meat anyway, why not go out like a blown blossom, an orchid, say. Also, you had the advantage of knowing when your were going "up in smoke" and could quit worrying about that. Then there was the religious angle, dying for the Emporer and the Rising Sun.
There was a lot to it.
My understanding, though, is that there was no backing out. You simply couldn't turn around and come back. Once you took off you were literally, perhaps a willing, enthusiastic prisoner, but nevertheless a prisoner condemned to death.
I do believe a moment of silence might be in order. But think of the damage done when a bomb loaded monoplane crashed down the smoke stack of a large ship.
Bob Hill