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Kamikaze (神風 kamikaze) is a Japanese word, usually translated as divine wind — which came into being as the name of typhoons that are said to have saved Japan from the Mongol invasion fleet of 4,000 (actual: 1,170) ships ordered by Kublai Khan in 1281.
The name given to the storm, kamikaze, was later used during World War II for suicide attacks by Japanese pilots, and this is the common meaning of the word in English.
Recent research has found that causes contributing to the invasion's failure included:
- Many of the ships were requisitioned river craft with flat bottoms and wobbly masts, and thus, unstable in rough sea.
- Some of the ships had been poorly made, perhaps as deliberate sabotage by Chinese shipbuilders who resented their new Mongol masters.
Pacific typhoons | Pre-1945 Pacific typhoon seasons | Hurricanes of unknown strength
"Kamikaze (typhoon)"