"自殺飛行員"，1945年，日語，字面意思爲"神風"，由 kami "神，天意"（見 kami）+ kaze "風"組成。據說最初是民間傳說中賜予拯救日本於1281年8月摧毀忽必烈的艦隊的颱風的名字。第二次世界大戰的襲擊始於1944年10月在菲律賓附近。作爲形容詞，從1946年開始使用。
As an aside, at war's end, the Japanese had, by actual count, a total of 16,397 aircraft still available for service, including 6,374 operational fighters and bombers, and if they had used only the fighters and bombers for kamikaze missions, they might have realized, additionally, 900 ships sunk or damaged and 22,000 sailors killed or injured. In fact, however, the Japanese had outfitted many aircraft, including trainers, as potential suicide attackers. As intelligence estimates indicated, the Japanese believed they could inflict at least 50,000 casualties to an invasion force by kamikaze attacks alone. [Richard P. Hallion, "Military Technology and the Pacific War," 1995]
順便提一下，在戰爭結束時，據實數統計，日本總共還有16,397架飛機可供使用，其中包括6,374架作戰戰鬥機和轟炸機，如果他們只使用戰鬥機和轟炸機進行 kamikaze 任務，他們可能會額外擊沉或損壞900艘船隻，造成22,000名水手死亡或受傷。然而，事實上，日本已經裝備了許多飛機，包括教練機，作爲潛在的自殺攻擊者。情報估計表明，日本人相信僅通過 kamikaze 攻擊就可以造成至少50,000名入侵部隊的傷亡。[理查德·P·哈利昂，《軍事技術與太平洋戰爭》，1995年]
