kamikaze bushido meizi okanayamaki tokugawa

The Kamikaze (神風^?, [kamikaꜜze] ( listen); "divine wind" or "spirit wind"), officially Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (特別攻撃隊 "Special Attack Unit"^?), abbreviated as Tokkō Tai (特攻隊^?), and used as a verb as Tokkō (特攻 "special attack"^?), were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. During World War II, about 3,860 kamikaze pilots died, and about 19% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship.^[1]
The tradition of death instead of defeat, capture, and perceived shame was deeply entrenched in Japanese military culture. It was one of the primary traditions in the samurai life and the Bushido code: loyalty and honour until death, as the Japanese perceived it.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

These attacks, which began in October 1944, followed several critical military defeats for the Japanese. They had long since lost aerial dominance due to outdated aircraft and the loss of experienced pilots. On a macroeconomic scale, Japan suffered from a diminishing capacity for war, and a rapidly declining industrial capacity relative to the Allies. Despite these problems, the Japanese government expressed its reluctance to surrender. In combination, these factors led to the use of kamikaze tactics as Allied forces advanced towards the Japanese home islands.

Did makeup bring down Japan’s centuries-old shogunate system? A recent study of samurai families' remains suggests that lead poisoning from cosmetics may have contributed to its demise.

During Japan’s Edo period, a series of military dictators called shoguns controlled the country, served by feudal lords known as daimyo and the samurai warriors who protected them. In 1868, after more than 260 years in existence, this highly stratified system collapsed and imperial rule was restored. Historians point to many reasons for the shogunate’s demise, including foreign intrusions, rebellion against the feudal system and sweeping global trends that forced Japan to abandon its policy of isolation. Writing in a recent issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, scientists at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Kitakyushu have proposed a surprising addition to this list of factors: makeup.

Led by the anatomist Tamiji Nakashima, the researchers unearthed the remains of 70 people from a samurai burial place in the ancient city of Kokura. After testing the concentration of lead in their bones, they determined that the women in the group had higher lead levels than the men; the children’s levels, meanwhile, were up to 50 times higher than their parents’. The most elevated levels showed up in those under age 3—a median of 1,241 micrograms of lead per gram of dry bone, or more than 120 times the minimum amount now believed to cause neurological disorders, behavioral problems and severe intellectual impairment.

What caused the samurai kids’ apparent lead poisoning and the discrepancy between the men’s and women’s respective levels? Nakashima and his team point to the lead-heavy cosmetics samurai women often used during the Edo period. As members of an elite group, samurai wives wanted to look stylish, so they took fashion cues from the celebrities of their day: famous geishas, courtesans and Kabuki actresses. Many of these high-profile women coated their faces in a lead-based white powder that served as a canvas for brightly colored accents. While the precise origin of this practice is unknown, it is likely that a pale complexion signified prestige in feudal Japan: Poor people tended to work outdoors and could not shield their faces from the sun.

Young children’s exposure may have occurred while they breastfed, and those who did not die from the metal’s effects probably suffered from the many mental and physical symptoms it can produce, Nakashima said. The historical record hints that even the shoguns were not impervious: Several rulers during the Edo period were afflicted with mysterious disorders that are consistent with lead toxicity. The lower classes, meanwhile, were prohibited from using cosmetics and could not have afforded them anyway; their inferior status granted them immunity from a lethal luxury that may have weakened their leaders and created enough political instability to bring down the shogunate system.

This is not the first time people have jeopardized their health in the name of beauty. Throughout history, men and women from various cultures have adorned themselves with products containing lead and other harmful substances. The ancient Egyptians, for instance, used lead, arsenic and other toxic ingredients in their elaborate eye makeup. In Elizabethan times, women used mercury—which can accumulate in the body and affect the nervous system—to treat blemishes and clean their faces. Even today, the debate continues about whether cosmetics containing traces of lead should be universally banned.

This is also not the first time lead has been blamed for the decline of a powerful ruling class. The ancient Romans—and particularly members of the aristocracy–used the metal for everything from fabricating pipes and lining baths to heating wine and flavoring food. While the contention that lead toppled Rome has stirred up a great deal of controversy among historians, most agree that many Romans suffered from its toxic effects.