How Kamikaze Pilots Thought

Kamikaze means ‘divine wind’, and refers to the typhoon that saved Japan from a Mongol invasion in 1281.

Of course, in the West, kamikaze has a very different meaning, and the psychology of World War II suicide pilots is examined in detail in an article by Yuki Tanaka. I’ve often wondered how you could prepare yourself for such a mission, and just how these pilots saw their missions. Tanaka notes some interesting facts about this; including the view that the rationalization of their deaths often had little to do with the Empire, particularly towards the end of the war when defeat was certain.
Not all pilots completed their missions either -

There was even one case in which a kamikaze pilot took off on a mission, but deliberately crashed his plane into a military brothel, killing several “comfort women,” including his favorite, as well as himself

Fascinating reading.

Link.

Saturday, May 6th, 2006 Japan, Japanese History Trackback URL for this entry