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Film, Museum Spark Interest in Kamikaze
Forbes.com ^
| Jul 8, 11:26 AM EDT
| JOSEPH COLEMAN
Posted on 07/08/2007 1:10:35 PM PDT by gandalftb
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To: gandalftb
Director Shinjo said Japan launched the war in self-defense...
I’ve been considering taking a trip into the mountains, finding a huge bear, sneaking up on it and kicking it in the nads. For self defensive purposes of course.
Isn’t that what the Japanese did to the us? The consequences are about the same!
21
posted on
07/08/2007 3:08:12 PM PDT
by
Grizzled Bear
("Does not play well with others.")
To: stumpy
He told me the day before the war ended his best friend flew his own mission and that prior to taking off had cut off his left hand pinky finger and given it to him to remember him by.
Damn! Maybe that’s why these days they’re really into cameras.
“No cut off finger! Take Polaroid!”
22
posted on
07/08/2007 3:12:51 PM PDT
by
Grizzled Bear
("Does not play well with others.")
To: Grizzled Bear
Director Shinjo said Japan launched the war in self-defense... So Japan invaded Manchuria in self-defense, comitted the rape of Nanking in self-defense, attacked Pearl Harbor in self-defense, etc....
Sure, it was in self-defense....and I'll be spending the night with Penelope Cruz!
23
posted on
07/08/2007 3:15:55 PM PDT
by
eekitsagreek
(dum dum DUUMMM!!!! I'm Captain Chaos and this is my faithful companion Cato! Say hello Cato!)
To: gandalftb
A good friend of mine who is knowledgable about such things offered this insight some time back. As background to the kamikazes, one needs to remember that U.S. air supremacy by late 1944 was overwhelming. The mortality rate for Japanese pilots was exceedingly high. For new pilots, which most of them were by that time, it was darn near 100% within two or three missions ... if they lasted
that long. Japanese pilots who didn't abort their missions were flying suicide missions anyhow. The institution of the kamikaze essentially formalized what was already the reality.
I don't know how much water it holds, but it's an interesting take.
24
posted on
07/08/2007 3:20:52 PM PDT
by
sphinx
To: ozzymandus
I never heard of a Japanese soldier dressing up in a kimono to avoid capture. You can call the Japanese soldiers during the WW2 era a lot of things: brutal, ruthless, heartless, patriotic, etc., but they were not cowards and they never ran away from a fight unless you call committing suicide by Seppuku (aka hara-kiri) cowardly!
25
posted on
07/08/2007 3:28:19 PM PDT
by
Tamar1973
(Riding the Korean Wave, one BYJ movie at a time! (http://www.byj.co.kr))
To: Tamar1973
Hello TSN Queen!
*bows before TSN Queen*
26
posted on
07/08/2007 3:35:23 PM PDT
by
eekitsagreek
(dum dum DUUMMM!!!! I'm Captain Chaos and this is my faithful companion Cato! Say hello Cato!)
To: eekitsagreek
Sure, it was in self-defense....and I'll be spending the night with Penelope Cruz! Amy Grant would be disappointed. LOL!
27
posted on
07/08/2007 3:38:07 PM PDT
by
Tamar1973
(Riding the Korean Wave, one BYJ movie at a time! (http://www.byj.co.kr))
To: All
Does anyone have a problem with Japan declaring war on the US after the Pearl Harbor strike force was launched? Kind of like declaring war while the bullet is in flight, isn't it?
28
posted on
07/08/2007 3:38:09 PM PDT
by
eekitsagreek
(dum dum DUUMMM!!!! I'm Captain Chaos and this is my faithful companion Cato! Say hello Cato!)
To: Lonesome in Massachussets
As was touched upon by my post- mutiny for them would have been an exceptionally different approach than how they historically responded to the will of their god-king. Their philosophies overwhelm such independent-minded approaches.
No, they agreed to do their ruler’s bidding, even at the cost of their lives. I’m sure there were some who resisted, there always are- but they would have been met with little sympathy from their brothers-in-arms.
As for the effectiveness of their tactics- I do not disagree. Very wasteful. But again, completely genuine to their culture.
29
posted on
07/08/2007 3:42:24 PM PDT
by
MacDorcha
(study links agenda-driven morons and junk science...)
To: Tamar1973
Amy Grant would be disappointed. LOL! I saw a picture of Penelope Cruz on the beach in a bikini. As Ralph Kramden would say, "hamana...hamana...hamana"!
Amy Grant is still no.1!
30
posted on
07/08/2007 3:43:15 PM PDT
by
eekitsagreek
(dum dum DUUMMM!!!! I'm Captain Chaos and this is my faithful companion Cato! Say hello Cato!)
To: eekitsagreek
Hello TSN Queen! *bows before TSN Queen* Yoboseyo!
31
posted on
07/08/2007 3:44:09 PM PDT
by
Tamar1973
(Riding the Korean Wave, one BYJ movie at a time! (http://www.byj.co.kr))
To: sphinx
Don’t forget that Japan also had manned torpedoes against American ships. I don’t know if any were actually used in combat.
32
posted on
07/08/2007 3:45:02 PM PDT
by
eekitsagreek
(dum dum DUUMMM!!!! I'm Captain Chaos and this is my faithful companion Cato! Say hello Cato!)
To: stumpy
“....that prior to taking off had cut off his left hand pinky finger and given it to him to remember him by.”
It must have been properly terrifying to fight these guys.
33
posted on
07/08/2007 5:03:01 PM PDT
by
TalBlack
To: TigerLikesRooster
To: MacDorcha
“Japanese...are an extremely prideful people....”
Extremely well put, sir. They are among the most racist people on earth. And yet, every August 6th (the day WWII really began, in their eyes) we `gaijin’ Americans get beaten on the head about the `atrocities’ of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
A U.S. ground invasion of the Japan home islands would have exterminated most of the generation of our Japanese critics of today (as well as causing the deaths of untold numbers of American military).
So they glorify Kamikaze and worship Tojo at the infamous Yasukune shrine?
This `western devil’ finds such to be despicable.
To: colderwater
My take is that their military/government high-command was unimpressed with the effects of the first bomb. Remember that LeMay had already fire-bombed Tokyo and other cities with much greater devastation and loss of life. Finally they were convinced that we only had one bomb.
My wife's orthodontist is a visiting intern from Tokyo. When asked if he was considering relocating to America, he replied: "Oh no, I would never raise my children around Blacks." In my other experiences with Japanese businessmen I have found them to be absolutely racist and unapologetic about their feelings, although they rarely express them.
36
posted on
07/08/2007 6:03:10 PM PDT
by
gandalftb
(Blessed be the Lord that teaches my hands for the war, and my fingers to fight. (Sniper Jackson))
To: sphinx
I would propose that the kamikaze is actually a tactical attack with suicide as only one of the results. The essential goal was not to die but to damage our Navy. Banzai charges were similar with even less opportunity for success and that was a standard tactic before the Japanese units were pressed into a corner.
The Code of the Bushido emphasizes success in the attack, the death of the attacker is not considered a waste as long as the attack succeeds.
37
posted on
07/08/2007 6:11:03 PM PDT
by
gandalftb
(Blessed be the Lord that teaches my hands for the war, and my fingers to fight. (Sniper Jackson))
To: Lonesome in Massachussets
The goal was to succeed by any means. Guadalcanal was unusual in that the Japanese we fought had not known defeat and were certain that we soft Americans would buckle. The units we fought were Royal Marines, big strong, well trained. They were tough to kill. Their fatal and worst mistake was being unaware of the fighting spirit and toughness of our Marines and our superior fire-power.
38
posted on
07/08/2007 6:19:28 PM PDT
by
gandalftb
(Blessed be the Lord that teaches my hands for the war, and my fingers to fight. (Sniper Jackson))
To: TalBlack
Our young men and women are fighting people just as dedicated today. I pray for them daily. Semper Fi
39
posted on
07/08/2007 10:26:12 PM PDT
by
stumpy
To: gandalftb
They fed their troops in piecemeal and got them chewed up. It was obvious they vastly under estimated the fighting spirit of the Marines.
I’m glad you made it through and thanks for your service. (My father’s generation had many men like you.)
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