Origin of Kamehameha Wave's Name (Dragon Ball Series)

For those who are anime fanatic especially Dragon Ball, probably you can't deny the amazement in your eyes with the characters' great energy power which they are using for their attacks and of course no one can forget how some of the characters especially Goku unleashed the popular "Kamehameha Wave"- the "Turtle Devastation Wave or Turtle Destruction Wave". It was the most widely used finishing attack in the Dragon Ball series. Some may even mimicking the characters when doing that attack (am I right? ^.^).

In the series, Kamehameha was actually invented by Master Roshi over a fifty year period spanning pre-Dragon Ball. The main character Goku learned it after witnessing Master Roshi. The Kame attack has several different colors: whitish-blue, red, yellow, golden yellow and pink (depending upon the character who will do it). It is being formed when cupped hands are drawn to the user's side and the ki is concentrated into a single point between the cupped hands (and the hands must be really close), however in the manga, there aren't any energy spheres in user's hand. The hands are then thrust forward to shoot out a streaming, powerful beam of energy. The blast can also be used with just one arm. In most variants, the user utters the word "Ka-me-ha-me-HA!!!" as he/she charges and releases the attack (Wikipedia).

But did you know that Akira Toriyama, the author of the manga Dragon Ball derived Kamehameha from the name of the first king of Hawai'i- King Kamehameha. Out of curiosity, I read some articles and here's what I've found out.

Why he has chosen that name?
They said, he named it after his visit to Hawaii and saw the statue of the King.
In some reference, it says this "after much contemplation, actually Toriyama could not decide on a name for his "Kame" attack, so he asked his wife. His wife came up with the name and the stances used during the attack. She also told Akira that it would be easy to remember the name of the attack if he used the name of the famous Hawaiian King named Kamehameha. Akira agreed, and the Kamehameha was born."

Also known as Kamehameha the Great, (1737 or 1758)

In Hawaiian language, Kamehameha means "The Lonely One" but behind its meaning lies a great name...a great warrior...a great leader...a great man with supernatural strength...

Based from some accounts, King Kamehameha's birth was legendary, he was born shortly after Halley's comet appeared in 1758 and it was the sign according to the prophecy. At the age of 14, he was the only person who ever lifted the Naha Stone (5,000 lbs) and the legend says it is the warrior who would unite all the islands of Hawaii. King Kamehameha I was the first king to conquer and unite all the Hawaiian islands and has been called as the Napoleon of the Pacific. He's a great warrior, ruthless in the war but he was generous and forgiving in peace. He is also a lawgiver who created the Law of the Splintered Paddle (his popular law, it protects the human rights of the non combatants during the battle) and other laws against murder, theft and plundering. He preserved Hawaii's independence during his reign. President Obama proclaimed June 11, 2010 as King Kamehameha Day.

After learning these things (maybe only about 1% out of the numerous stories about "Kamehameha I"), I can say that Akira's wife have a good taste. A great energy power attack derived from a great man with supernatural strength. When fiction meets the non fiction, we can make a beam of explosion out of the encounter and I can't tell how far the influence can go. Ka---me---ha---me----haaa....wavvvveeeeee!!!!!!

 References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-king-kamehameha-day

http://www.gohawaii.com/statewide/guidebook/king-kamehameha