New Understandings about the Kamikaze

Confession time (I feel like there are more and more of those with every course session and every reading): when I had learned about Japan's role in WWII and especially the kamikaze pilots, I had wrongfully assumed that these pilots were truly devoted to the Japanese cause for entering and continuing the war. I had in my mind, hate-filled, vengeful pilots just aching to cause casualties, proud and grateful to die for their country. Through the readings and the lecture, I now realize that is NOT the case. Many in Japan were against the war, and, worse, that these kamikaze pilots had not volunteered for this task, but were conscripted out of universities and were more than likely not wanting to participate. Reading the diary of the pilot and seeing how they were doing anything to take their minds off of what they had to do, as well as hearing about the fights these pilots would get into while waiting for their one and only flight, was incredibly enlightening, but also incredibly sad to me. I am also reminded that I need to view historical events and their players through multiple perspectives before I assign motives and even judgments about events and their players. Even more important is that I teach my students to view all events through multiple perspectives, not just through their own experiences.