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So there's this so-called imponderable question that makes the rounds in all the lists: why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets? I've seen various answers -- Cecil Adams said it was to keep their heads warm in open cockpits, while Marilyn vos Savant said it was because they didn't really want to face what they were about to do -- but as far as I'm concerned, the answer is pretty obvious.

Much of Japanese culture is based on 型, pronounced kata, which means the proper way of doing something. They have a proper way to do everything, from wrapping presents to greeting strangers. And when I say that the way is proper, I don't mean that it's normal or typical or expected, because all cultures have a normal way to give a present or offer a greeting. In Japanese culture, there are fine, precise details to those and other tasks, and there's a good deal of pride, and a good deal of cultural capital, available to those who execute them perfectly.

One way this shows up is in wearing the proper clothing for whatever one is doing. To play golf, you must wear golf clothes. To hike, you must have a hiking outfit. If your clothes aren't consciously and carefully matched to your activity, then the activity itself is less worthy, less satisfactory.

Therefore, if you're going to pilot a plane to your country's glory, you've got to be decked out in proper pilot attire. And what do pilots wear on their heads? (Or, what did they in the 1940s?) An aviator's helmet. Kamikaze pilots wore helmets so they would look the part, which is vitally important from one end of Japanese culture to the other.