noun
principle of honorable death and no surrender
Refers to the militaristic ideology of choosing death over surrender, often associated with Japanese wartime attitudes.
玉砕主義は、戦時中の日本軍の精神を象徴する言葉だ。
The principle of honorable death and no surrender is a term that symbolizes the spirit of the Japanese military during the war.
玉砕 refers to the act of honorable death itself, while 玉砕主義 is the ideology or principle behind it.
Compound of 玉砕 (honorable death) and 主義 (principle, -ism). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it is associated with Japanese militarism.