When antique naval doctrines still dominated, the battleships - big, powerful warships - were the main naval power and the pride of every nation. More than that, they represented humanity's tendency to push their technology to the ultimate limits.
Or, on the other side, humanity's wish to reach maximum destructive power. Their wish to impose their might upon anything,
Or their wish to annihilate everything, to deconstruct the world itself with pure brute force.
They were the symbol of ultimate destruction, representing the innermost ambitions of the human nature.
Among that, we have Yamato.
It was the heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built. It carried not only unmatched firepower, but also the
of its country.
Designed to win against any potential enemy, Yamato represented the country's power. They believed that while this ship was still running, they would never lose. It was almost an idol of worship.
The entire country deposited their
to this dreadfully destructive steel beast.
However, reality is often disappointing.
The war was lost, the result decided before the ship even battled. The most powerful ship was destroyed without sinking a single enemy, shattering every ideal it carried.
Strong worship carrying heavy meanings, and then massive depression. That is basically this ship's path.
Created by that
, and failing miserably right after.
Being broken so suddenly, all that
searched desperately for a new vessel... and it found a soul.
"I saw it on my after-death dreams. The souls of all those soldiers, the sailors of that sunken ship, still brimming with thirst for blood. That was completely foolish. A soldier's duty ends with death, as did theirs and mine.
I know this. Nothing was clearer for me in my entire life... So why did I accept their anyway?"
Yamamoto Isoroku. The japonese marshal and admiral of the Imperial Japonese Navy, and Comander-In-Chief of the Combined Fleet during WWII.
Born as the son of a intermediate-rank samurai, he graduated in the Imperial Naval Academy, known for its spartan education. After his participation in the Battle of Tsushima, he quickly climbed ranks until being promoted to Commander.
Then, he was rival to most officers of his time. He opposed the more politically influencial army, he opposed the invasion of china, and the war against U.S.A. (partly because of his studies there, including in Harvard University), and even the pact with Germany and Italy. He latter became known for his prudent and cautious leadership.
Because of this, of course, he became a target of assassination threats by pro-war militarists.
Yamamoto received a steady stream of hate and death threats from Japanese nationalists, but his reaction to the prospect of death by assassination was passive and accepting.
"If a person wants to take a life, still the fighting man will go to eternity for Emperor and country. As Confucius said, "They may crush cinnabar, yet they do not take away its color; one may burn a fragrant herb, yet it will not destroy the scent." They may destroy my body, yet they will not take away my will."
Yamamoto was also a strong supporter of naval aviation, making many reforms in the japonese navy.
He undoubtedly loved his country and emperor. Even when strongly opposing the war, he followed all orders without a hint of regret, and proposed the attack of Pearl Harbor.
A man of unbreakable will and absolute faith in his country. Even when threatened inside his own house, he never lost his faith. All he did was for the good of the empire.
But it wasn't enough. Yamamoto was killed before the war ended, and the ending was obvious.
Even so, he accepted it passively. The result was clear for him since the beginning.
So why did he embrace that hollow
?
"That ship was a waste of resources, I always said. It was no bastion of glory. And after all that, it carried only a hollow, corrupted and depressed .
...
But now at least, those poor sailors can have a place to rest".