What is Kamikaze? Why was it used and was it Effective?

When we think and hear the world Kamikaze we think of suicide planes or someone who takes a great risk without caring for their own safety because of the events that took place in WWII.  However, the world kamikaze existed long before WWII and was not associated with suicide planes.  Schoppa states that it was “Named for a typhoon (kamikaze or “divine wind”) that had saved the Japanese of the thirteenth century from the threatening Mongols,” (4).  So how did a name of a typhoon become linked with Japanese suicide bombers?  Well, if we go beyond the name itself and ignore the dictionary definition, kamikaze becomes a metaphor for the Japanese during WWII.  Those who volunteered to be a suicide bombers were to be the ‘divine wind’ that would once again engulf their enemies from the sea and save Japan.  In other words, they were like the typhoon (kamikaze) that saved Japan from the Mongols.  So Why did the Japanese decide to use this type of war technique?  Well its quite simple, as Schoppa states, “Their use in the closing months of war shows both the desperation of the Japanese and the vain hope that courageous actions of the young pilots might save Japan, just as the typhoon had centuries earilier,”.   The Japanese were low on good conditioned planes to make good use of them in defending against the U.S. air force and ships.  It would be a waste to fly them only for them to get shot down.  Not to mention they were also low on trained pilots and had no time to train the uneducated.  Japan was at rock bottom and desperation hit and only hope could save them.  Kamikaze was Japan’s dying breath to save Japan from being conquered as it did in thirteenth century against the Mongols.   “From April to June, the Battle of Okinawa killed 110,000 Japanese soldiers, 100,000 Okinawan civilians, 7,374 U.S. soldiers (with almost 32,000 wounded), 5,000 U.S. sailers in kamikaze attacks.  In those, attacks, 30 U.S. ships were sunk and 368 were damaged,” (5).  The Japanese Kamikazes shows that they had the ability to create massive damage to the U.S. ships, however, it also harmed the Japanese as well.

As history tells us, the Kamikaze and the hope of the Japanese was an utter failure.  Though they put up a last fight, it was not enough to push back the U.S. from functioning and pursuing Japan.  However, if we take a look at it from a smaller scale and just focus on the idea of Kamikaze and a single plane it is a success and effective.  Due to the fact that a suicide plane had no choice to turn back and return home, the attack range was enhanced. This means that they could reach further distances and destroy something farther away because it was a suicide mission at the start anyways.  Also, most of the planes were most likely cheap, outdated, brought out of “retirement” meaning cost was cheap and all that was needed was a big set of explosives planted inside the plane.  Not to mention there ones needs to be one pilot.  Kamikaze was a cheap way to destroy a ship worth hundreds of thousands dollars that took years to build but also manned with men.  Lastly, Kamikaze was able to do damage not only physically but also psychologically.  It brought fear because a small outdated plane could intentionally destroy a ship and kill those aboard it.  However, on the largest scale of the war, it was only a dent.  There was not enough time for the Japanese to push back and there wasn’t enough men to defend with.  Had the Japanese used the idea of Kamikaze a year or two earlier, the effectiveness of it would be much greater.  It could have potentially prolonged the war and change the history we know today.

1. Erikson, Jamie. “Honor in Death: Kamikaze Pilots of World War II”.

2. Holloway, April. “Kamikaze – The Divine Winds that Saved Japan”.  Ancient Origins, August 21, 2014.

3. Schoppa, Keith. East Asia: Identities and Change in the Modern World-1700 to Present. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.

4. Schoppa, East Asia, 306

5. Schoppa, East Asia, 306

Image URL: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/USS_Columbia_attacked_by_kamikaze.jpg