Anatomy of Yamato
7. Living Conditions
Yamato had a reputation as the most comfortable ship in the
Japanese navy. For part of the war, she was the navy's flagship and
home to the highest naval commanders, who were catered to. But even
low-ranking sailors fared well—eating white rice rather than
barley—because Yamato
spent many months in port. She was the first Japanese warship
equipped with air conditioning, although it didn't cool all living
quarters. There was also relative elbow room for her crew of 2,800
men: 10 square feet of living space per man, compared to only three
to four square feet on Japanese destroyers.