The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
kamikaze
(kä´´mkä´z) (KEY) [Jap.,=divine wind], the typhoon that destroyed Kublai Khan’s fleet, foiling his invasion of Japan in 1281. In World War II the term was used for a Japanese suicide air force composed of fliers who crashed their bomb-laden planes into their targets, usually ships. The kamikaze was first used extensively at Leyte Gulf and was especially active at Okinawa.
kä´z
) (KEY) [Jap.,=divine wind], the typhoon that destroyed Kublai Khan’s fleet, foiling his invasion of Japan in 1281. In World War II the term was used for a Japanese suicide air force composed of fliers who crashed their bomb-laden planes into their targets, usually ships. The kamikaze was first used extensively at Leyte Gulf and was especially active at Okinawa.
