Original Japanese WWII Military-Issue Kamikaze Hachimaki Headband with Translation Sheet - Marked Air Weapons Headquarters

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. These headbands are extremely rare, because most that were worn were destroyed when the Japanese pilot crashed his plane into a ship, or was shot down. These were presented to the pilot before their final mission along with a small cup of saki. Kamikaze translates to Divine Wind. The Japanese started using Kamikaze attacks against the U.S. Naval forces in October of 1944. They also used one man submarines with an attached warhead to take them to their death, and a place of honor at the Yasukuni National Shrine.

This example is of cotton construction and measures approximately 33 1/2 inches x 10 inches and is offered in very good condition. The front of the headband features the Japanese red "Hi no Maru" (日の丸 or sun round) emblem, with 風 神 (Kami-kaze or Divine Wind) surrounding it.

Below it is Kanji text translating to: “Courteously written by Saburo Endo, Secretary of the Air Weapons Headquarters”. These translations are provided by a small piece of paper with the headband. 

Ready to display!

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. 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.

During the WWII Period, the "Kamikaze" was invoked again as a way of hoping to "sweep away" enemies like the wind, and most often refers to the Kamikaze Suicide pilots. Officially called the Shinpū Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (神風特別攻撃隊, "Divine Wind Special Attack Unit"), these were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to destroy warships more effectively than with conventional air attacks. About 3,800 kamikaze pilots died during the war, and more than 7,000 naval personnel were killed by kamikaze attacks.

Kamikaze aircraft were essentially pilot-guided explosive missiles, purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft. Pilots would attempt to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" in planes laden with some combination of explosives, bombs, torpedoes and full fuel tanks. Accuracy was much higher than that of conventional attacks, and the payload and explosion larger; about 19% of kamikaze attacks were successful. A kamikaze could sustain damage that would disable a conventional attacker and still achieve its objective. The goal of crippling or destroying large numbers of Allied ships, particularly aircraft carriers, was considered by the Empire of Japan to be a just reason for sacrificing pilots and aircraft.

These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military defeats for the Japanese. They had long since lost aerial dominance as a result of having outdated aircraft and enduring the loss of experienced pilots. Japan suffered from a diminishing capacity for war and a rapidly declining industrial capacity relative to that of the Allies. Japan was also losing pilots faster than it could train their replacements. These combined factors, along with Japan's unwillingness to surrender, led to the use of kamikaze tactics as Allied forces advanced towards the Japanese home islands.

While the term kamikaze usually refers to the aerial strikes, it has also been applied to various other suicide attacks. The Japanese military also used or made plans for non-aerial Japanese Special Attack Units, including those involving submarines, human torpedoes, speedboats and divers.

The tradition of death instead of defeat, capture and shame is deeply entrenched in Japanese military culture. One of the primary traditions in the samurai life and the Bushido code: loyalty and honor until death