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Kamikaze
Kamikaze (Jap., ‘Divine Wind’, so-called from the strong winds and storms which dispersed two Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281). Japanese pilots during the Second World War who volunteered, from 1944 onward, to undertake missions against enemy targets in which they were ‘flying bombs’, and from which, therefore, they could not expect to return alive. Related to kamikaze were the kaiten (turning of the heaven), human torpedoes. They wore white scarves and also round their foreheads a white cloth, taken from the hachimaki, the cloths worn by samurai warriors. In a Zen perspective (often referred to by volunteers who survived), death is of no greater importance (or less) than any other event or manifestation. In a wider Japanese perspective, the spirits of warriors who die in obedience to the emperor return in any case to Japan, and in particular to the Shinto Yasukuni (Country of Peace) shrine in Tokyo. This shrine was founded in 1879 as the Tokyo Shokon Jinja (shrine).
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JOHN BOWKER. "Kamikaze." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Kamikaze." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Kamikaze.html JOHN BOWKER. "Kamikaze." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze ˌkämiˈkäzē (World War II) (a crewman of) a Japanese aircraft, usually loaded with explosives, making a deliberate suicidal crash on an enemy target, such as an aircraft carrier; a suicide pilot or plane. Japan officially formed a kamikaze force in late 1944. During the American invasion of Okinawa (April 1945), Japanese suicide sorties called kikusui (”floating chrysanthemums”) sank thirty-six ships and damaged 368. An estimated 5,000 kamikaze pilots died in action.
In Japanese tradition, the kamikaze, or “divine wind,” was a gale that destroyed the fleet of the invading Mongols in 1281. |
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"kamikaze." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze (Japanese, ‘Divine Wind’) Originally the fierce storms that twice saved Japan from Mongol invasion (in 1274 and 1281). In World War II a kamikaze was an aircraft laden with explosives and suicidally crashed by the pilot into an enemy ship. The Japanese naval command resorted to these desperate measures in 1944 in an attempt to halt the Allied advance across the Pacific. At first volunteers were used, but the practice soon became compulsory. Off Okinawa in 1945 over 300 kamikaze pilots died in one action.
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"kamikaze." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
ka·mi·ka·ze / ˌkämiˈkäzē/ • n. (in World War II) a Japanese aircraft loaded with explosives and making a deliberate suicidal crash on an enemy target. ∎ the pilot of such an aircraft. • adj. of or relating to such an attack or pilot. ∎ reckless or potentially self-destructive: he made a kamikaze run across three lanes of traffic. |
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"kamikaze." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze [Jap.,=divine wind], the typhoon that destroyed Kublai Khan's fleet, foiling his invasion of Japan in 1281. In World War II the term was used for a Japanese suicide air force composed of fliers who crashed their bomb-laden planes into their targets, usually ships. The kamikaze was first used extensively at Leyte Gulf and was especially active at Okinawa. |
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"kamikaze." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze in the Second World War, a Japanese aircraft loaded with explosives and making a deliberate suicidal crash on an enemy target. The word, which is Japanese, comes from kami ‘divinity’ + kaze ‘wind’, originally referring to the gale that, in Japanese tradition, destroyed the fleet of invading Mongols in 1281.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "kamikaze." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "kamikaze." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-kamikaze.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "kamikaze." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze, the ‘divine wind’ which in 1281 sprang up in the Sea of Japan and destroyed the invasion fleet of Kublai Khan. It was also the name given by the Japanese during the Second World War (1939–45) to their ‘special attack units’ of suicide pilots which flew their aircraft into Allied warships.
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"kamikaze." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze (Jap. ‘divine wind’) Name given to crews or their explosive-laden aircraft used by the Japanese during World War II. Their suicidal method of attack was to dive into ships of the enemy fleet. Serious losses were inflicted on the US Navy.
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Cite this article
"kamikaze." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-kamikaze.html |
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kamikaze
kamikaze •jazzy, snazzy
•palsy-walsy • Ramsay
•pansy, tansy
•Anasazi, Ashkenazi, Ashkenazy, Benghazi, Ghazi, kamikaze, khazi, Stasi, Swazi
•prezzie
•frenzy, Mackenzie
•Bel Paese, Buthelezi, crazy, daisy, Farnese, glazy, hazy, lazy, Maisie, mazy, oops-a-daisy, Piranesi, upsy-daisy, Veronese
•stir-crazy
•breezy, cheesy, easy, easy-peasy, Kesey, Parcheesi, queasy, sleazy, wheezy, Zambezi
•teensy • speakeasy
•busy, dizzy, fizzy, frizzy, Izzy, Lizzie, tizzy
•flimsy, whimsy
•Kinsey, Lindsay, Lynsey
•poesy
•Aussie, cossie, mossie
•Swansea • gauzy • causey
•ballsy, palsy
•blowsy, Dalhousie, drowsy, frowzy, housey-housey, lousy
•cosy (US cozy), dozy, Josie, mafiosi, mosey, nosy, posey, posy, prosy, Rosie, rosy
•Boise, noisy
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Cite this article
"kamikaze." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "kamikaze." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-kamikaze.html "kamikaze." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-kamikaze.html |
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