7275


In Wikipedia, _Kamehameha_ is defined as a species of butterfly.

> kamehameha Web definitions The Kamehameha butterfly is one of the two
> species of butterfly native to Hawaii. The Hawaiian name is pulelehua. ...
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_(butterfly)>

What does it mean in the _Dragon Ball_ series?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-02T08:04:03.227
7272
2022-08-13T00:10:12.993
2016-01-13T10:50:00.063
18431
2732
question
dragon-ball-series
What is the meaning of the word Kamehameha?


About the best source I can find on the matter indicates that it means
["Turtle Destruction Wave"](http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Kamehameha). But
I can't derive that from the provided hiragana alone.

It makes sense if you break it down:

  * Turtle = Kame = 亀
  * Wave = Ha/Nami = 波

...which is essentially "turtle ___ wave", which is a nod to Master Roshi (the
Turtle Hermit).

If I fiddle a bit in Google Translate, I get something closer to 亀羽目波, which
is literally "turtle wind-up wave" - and that sounds close phonetically.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-02T09:23:46.590
7273
2014-02-02T09:23:46.590
102
7272
answer


According to [Dragon Ball Wikia](http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page):

> Akira Toriyama actually tried a number of poses when he was alone in order
> to decide the coolest pose for the Kamehameha. After much contemplation, he
> could not decide on a name for his "Kame" attack, so he asked his wife who
> came up with the name. She told Akira that it would be easy to remember the
> name of the attack if he uses the name of the cultural Hawaiian king named
> Kamehameha (lit. "the very lonely one" or "the one set apart" in Hawaiian
> language). Also, Kamehameha means "Turtle Destruction Wave" in Japanese.

So, despite the literal translation in Japanese "Turtle Destruction Wave",
Kamehameha is also a name of a [Hawaiian
king](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I):

> Kamehameha I (Hawaiian pronunciation: [kəmehəˈmɛhə]; c. 1758 – May 8, 1819),
> also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and
> formally established the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1810. By developing alliances
> with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaiʻi's
> independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the Kānāwai
> Māmalahoe, the "Law of the Splintered Paddle", which protects human rights
> of non-combatants in times of battle. Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is
> Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu
> kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-02T13:06:39.390
7275
2015-07-02T05:22:31.430
2015-07-02T05:22:31.430
11083
2251
7272
answer


The term Kamehameha seems to come from the king of Hawaii, King Kamehameha.
However this is not the case: Kamehameha is a term for something along the
lines of "Turtle Destruction Wave", or のカメの破壊の波 (No kame no hakai no nam).
That is as close as I could possibly get it to Kamehameha, which is what
Kamehameha stands for: Turtle ____ Wave. But because it destroys anything in
its path, I would assume that it would be "Turtle Destruction Wave".


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-18T02:16:55.257
26673
2016-12-31T03:19:15.303
2016-12-31T03:19:15.303
8486
18569
7272
answer

[code]

    亀     Kame        Turtle
    破滅   Hame(tsu)   Destruction, Ruin
    波     Ha, Nami    Wave
    
[/code]

Turtle for Roshi's Turtle school. (It's the kanji on all their gi) Then hame
and ha for what the ability is. (A destruction wave.)


CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-17T12:09:07.723
45110
2018-03-17T12:33:00.837
2018-03-17T12:33:00.837
1587
38643
7272
answer


Japanese Wikipedia says it comes from the Hawaiian king, recommended by the
creator's wife. The "kame" part is a bit of a pun because it can also mean
turtle. "Hame" has no meaning. "Ha" means wave. On the whole, it just sounds a
bit silly, which is on purpose. "Turtle destruction wave" is fake news and
there is absolutely zero support for that interpretation. 破滅（はめつ）would never
in 100 years be abbreviated "hame" in Japanese. Source: Japanese speaker.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T17:26:50.260
47044
2018-05-15T17:32:04.353
2018-05-15T17:32:04.353
40658
40658
7272
answer