4. The Divine Wind which destroyed Mongol invasions of Japan
In the late 13th century, two separate invasions of Japan by massive Mongol fleets and armies found themselves thwarted. Japanese defenses did not defeat them. In both cases, typhoons arose which destroyed the Mongol fleets, with heavy loss of life. The first, in 1274, killed an estimated 13,000 Mongol troops and sailors, more than a third of the force. The second, in 1281, saw more than 70,000 Mongols killed or captured by the Japanese Samurai. Japan celebrated its deliverance as being divinely ordained, by the God Raijin in early accounts. Later mythology attributed the divine intervention to other gods, including Ryujin, the Japanese god of the sea. They called the intervention kamikaze.
Throughout its history, Japanese children were taught the divine nature of the storms which saved their country. Japanese culture revered the kamikaze through artwork, poetry, and song, linking the intervention of the gods to the willingness of the Samurai to fight against seemingly impossible odds. In the 1940s, as the Pacific War turned against Japan, the myth of divine intervention helped drive recruitment for a new form of kamikaze. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen trained for suicide attacks against American land and sea targets, including large ships. Spiritual training stressed their part in the new divine intervention to protect their homeland and above all, their emperor. In all, the second Divine Wind killed nearly 5,000 Americans, wounding more than 4,800 more. At least 47 ships were sunk, and scores more severely damaged.
Related: Life of a Kamikaze Pilot.