Ise Shrine, Ise River, etc), a famous place in modern-day Mie, somewhat near to Kyoto. In our case, kamikaze was used to refer to anything dealing with Ise (e.g. Japanese Alphabets: A Complete Guide to their History & Use A Whirlwind of Meaning: Shippuden “Sasageyo” in Japanese: Here’s What It Really Means The Meaning of “Kokujin” (黒人) in Japanese The expression “kamikaze” makes numerous appearances throughout as a makura-kotoba, aka a “pillow word.” These makura-kotoba are a sort of metonymy, where some thing or concept is referred to by substituting in a different, but related, word. The name literally means “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” and is the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry in existence.Ĭontained within are a variety of old waka-style poems, meaning they’re written in Japanese, as opposed to being written in Chinese by Japanese poets (this was an important distinction to make back when writing in Chinese was a mark of good breeding and education). The first recorded appearance of the term kamikaze is in the Manyoshu, an 8th-century collection of Japanese waka poetry. And snakes are Fenghuang’s natural prey.Ī Wild Divinity Appears: Origins in the Manyoshu In fact, the kanji 虫 used to represent a snake, not bugs. Originally 風 and 鳳 were the same thing, sharing a sense of things taking to the air, but over centuries of logographic evolution, they went their separate ways. In fact, this kanji shares an origin with 鳳, which represents Fenghuang, a mythical Chinese bird with wings made out of the wind itself (fun fact: 鳳 is where the Pokemon Ho-oh got its inspiration from!). One etymology suggests that “the wind brings bugs” is where the character comes from. The outer layer wraps over the top of the figure inside, 虫, which represents an insect. One mistaken etymology of the word comes from breaking down the character. It also encompasses the ideas of air, style, and manner. The kanji for wind is 風, or kaze, and it actually refers to a bit more than just wind. The Wind Part: Mythical Birds and Creepy Crawlies A fitting notion to keep in mind as we explore the history of the word Kamikaze. Like the spirits and gods of other folklore, Japanese spirits can turn from mischievous to good-willed to evil incarnate. Norinaga defined kami as: “…any being whatsoever which possesses some eminent quality out of the ordinary, and is awe-inspiring.” In Shintoism, kami are, in the wise words of Master Yoda, one with nature. There are a great many kami in Japanese mythology, most of which were first written about in the 8th century by Motoori Norinaga in the Kojiki-den (Records of Ancient Happenings). This includes trees, rocks, frogs, and in this case, wind.

Shintoism, the native religion of Japan, is strongly based on the idea that everything we see in nature has a spirit, or kami. The more ancient version of 神 looked a lot more like a god kneeling at an altar, but things changed pretty radically through the years. Since 申 lost its original meaning, an altar was added to the left side.

So, this meant “god” or “god speaking.” Nowadays, 申 just means “to say.” This character originally looked a little more like lightening, which represented the ancient belief that such night-splitting events marked the arrival of a god. The concept of “god” was originally represented only by the right part, 申. 神, or kami, refers to gods, the mind, and the soul. The original Japanese pronunciation is “kah-mii-kah-zeh”, rather than the Americanized “kah-meh-kah-zii.” The literal translation is ‘divine wind’ or ‘wind of the gods’. The word Kamikaze is written in kanji as 神風. What Does Kamikaze Literally Mean?: The Linguistic Origin However, prior to this, “kamikaze” was famously used in reference to the typhoons that ultimately stopped the foreign invasion of the Mongols in the 13th century. It is usually used in reference to Japanese suicide bombers during WWII, and it also serves as an adjective in English for reckless or self-destructive behavior. Kamikaze translates literally as ‘the wind of gods’ or ‘divine wind’. 9 Return to the Seas: Kamikaze-class destroyers.7 The Gods of the Wind: Raijin and Fujin.5 A Wild Divinity Appears: Origins in the Manyoshu.4 The Wind Part: Mythical Birds and Creepy Crawlies.2 What Does Kamikaze Literally Mean?: The Linguistic Origin.

Kamikaze drink