How did the term kamikaze get widely known. It seems that from old newsreels the term was known right away. How did American’s know that is what they were called and not just “the guys flying into our ships”. There was no Japanese CNN, I doubt the Japanese sent out press releases. Did Tokyo Rose use the term on broadcasts? If it was found through intelligence sources then I doubt they would want to make it widely known at the time.
I think you get the idea. I’ll stop now. I hope this isn’t a stupid question.
I don’t know the answer to the OP, but I believe the Japanese didn’t actually use the term “kamikaze” during WW2, they called it “shinpuu” which is an alternative reading of the same characters (“divine wind”). Which suggests that the term wasn’t picked up directly from the Japanese. Maybe someone in the US saw it written in characters and got the reading wrong?
I think the more interesting question is how the name kamikaze became associated with the drink (for the record, it’s equal parts vodka, triple sec, and Rose’s sweetened lime juice in a 1.5 oz. shot glass.)
According to the Japanese wikipedia page, “shimpuu” was indeed the original pronunciation used in the military, but a Japanese newsreel reporting on the first Kamikaze attack used the “kamikaze” pronunciation and it stuck. This also suggests the term (and tactic) was hardly a secret.