Japanese Kamikaze Pilots During World War II

 

Kamikaze pilots played an important role during the Second World War in Japan.  The Japanese term kamikaze stands for divine wind.  In the U.S., they were popularly known as suicide bombers.  They were introduced during the later part of the war when Japan was losing.  The Japanese Imperial Navy saw this as a last attempt in regaining momentum.  As a result, their strategy was to carry out suicide missions by crashing their planes into enemy targets.

Most of the pilots were very young and saw this as an opportunity to serve their country.  This concept dates back to the bushido code that emphasizes honor and loyalty among Japanese culture dating back to around the 12th century.  One movie that did a good job of portraying these young men accurately is titled “For Those Who Love” back in 2007 directed by Taku Shinjo.  These men had to encounter struggles and desires to serve their country despite the dangers.  Families worry they will never see their loved ones again just like every family would in reality.

 

 

The story strongly emphasizes how fragile human is especially during wartime.  Life is short and everyone should cherish every moment they have on earth with their loved ones.  War is horrific and everybody loses in the end.  These suicide missions costed millions of lives on the U.S. and Japanese side.  Another movie that people should check out is Steven Spielberg’s  “Empire of the Sun” starring Christian Bale.

It is based on the novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard about a British teenager and his parents arriving in Shanghai, China during the time it was invaded by the Japanese during World War II.  His parents were put in Japanese internment camp and Christian Bale’s character is left on his own to survive.

However, there are crucial scenes that show a significant role kamikaze pilots played during one of the most catastrophic periods in the history of mankind.  Check out this one scene below from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDtdHKXKDA0