Kamikaze-gō: The Plane that Sold Newspapers, Kimonos and National Pride

Friese, Klaus J. (February 2024): Kamikaze-gō: The Plane that Sold Newspapers, Kimonos and National Pride. In: Impressions: Journal of the Japanese Art Society of America, Vol. 45, No. 1: pp. 106-121

Abstract

Kamikaze, to most people, is the name of the suicide-attack planes used in the Pacific War beginning in October 1944. This essay is about a different aircraft, the Kamikaze-gō 神風号, that flew from Japan to Europe in record-setting time in 1937 and introduced the Western world to the word kamikaze 神風 (divine wind). That plane helped sell newspapers, merchandise and a good dose of patriotism and might have contributed in a small way to preparing the Japanese nation for later suicide flights. Its story provides insight into the complex relationship between commerce and war, as well as between patriotism and anxiety in the 1930s.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Keywords: Kamikaze; Showa; War Motif Textiles; Propganda; Nippon-Go; aircraft; Japan; 15 Years War
• Faculties: Cultural Studies > Department of Ancient and Modern Cultures > Ethnology; Cultural Studies > Department of Asian Studies > Japanese Studies
• Subjects: 700 Arts and recreation > 760 Graphic arts; 900 History and geography > 950 History of Asia
• ISSN: 1095-2136
• Language: English