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 32 inches x 13 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.

Other kanji markings on the hachimaki are in fact lyrics to a song, one that was a favorite among Kamikaze pilots, “Same Cherry Blossom”.

同期の桜（櫻）　
(Douki No Sakura) - Same (Synchronized) Cherry Blossom.

貴様と俺とは同期の桜
同じ兵学校の庭に咲く
咲いた花なら散るのは覚
悟みごと散りましょう国のため
二、貴様と俺とは同期の桜
同じ兵学校の庭に咲く
血肉分けたる仲ではないか
なぜか気が合うて別れられぬ

"Dōki no Sakura" is a Japanese gunka (composition of military music) during the late stages of the Pacific War, it was sung throughout Japan. It compares cherry blossoms with the destiny of soldiers who graduated from a military academy. The song was composed by Nōshō Ōmura. Although Yaso Saijō was thought to have written the original lyrics, he did not write the lyrics directly.

Originally released as "Sen'yū no Uta" (戦友の唄, Song of comrades) in 1939, the third and fourth verses were not added along with the original first, second and fifth verses until around 1944. In the revised version, the story of two kamikaze pilots was established. In the song, although a pilot dies, his bond with another surviving pilot remains strong. Before their mission, kamikaze pilots would sing "Dōki no Sakura" together.

This is a lovely example that comes more than ready for display.

Kamikaze, (神風) "divine wind" or "spirit wind", officially Shinpū Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (神風特別攻撃隊, "Divine Wind Special Attack Unit"), were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who initiated suicide attacks for 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 possible 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