Kamikaze (typhoon)

The kamikaze (Japanese: 神風, lit. 'divine wind') were two winds or storms that are said to have saved Japan from two Mongol fleets under Kublai Khan. These fleets attacked Japan in 1274 and again in 1281.^[1] Due to the growth of Zen Buddhism among Samurai at the time, these were the first events where the typhoons were described as "divine wind" as much by their timing as by their force. Since Man'yōshū, the word kamikaze has been used as a Makurakotoba of waka introducing Ise Grand Shrine.

The term "kamikaze" is an alternate reading of the characters, and the main reading of them that was used more throughout history was "shinpu".^[2]

^ America, Geological Society of. "The legend of the kamikaze typhoons". phys.org. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
^ Gavin Blair (2022). An Illustrated Guide to Samurai History and Culture: From the Age of Musashi to Contemporary Pop Culture. Foreword by Alexander Bennett. North Clarendon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-4-8053-1659-7.

[1] America, Geological Society of. "The legend of the kamikaze typhoons". phys.org. Retrieved 2024-01-20.

[2] Gavin Blair (2022). An Illustrated Guide to Samurai History and Culture: From the Age of Musashi to Contemporary Pop Culture. Foreword by Alexander Bennett. North Clarendon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-4-8053-1659-7.

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