The ships [two "superbattleships" which were almost immediately made obsolete by aircraft carriers], which would be named Yamato (built in Kure) and Musashi (Nagasaki), were shrouded in obsessive secrecy, because it was feared that if the Americans learned of them they would immediately begin construction on similar lines. On the other hand, it was no simple task to conceal projects of that scale on the teeming urban waterfronts of Kure and Nagasaki. Large fences were erected around the shipyards, but nothing could be done about the new gantry cranes that towered over the surrounding rooftops. The navy was so touchy about security that it refused to allow any plans or documents to leave its offices. Engineers were not permitted to look at blueprints; contracts had to be settled with a handshake; mock-ups of any kind were strictly forbidden. Engineers who asked too many questions were singled out for police interrogation. In Nagasaki, a city of hills, the entire shipyard was plainly visible from any one of a thousand vantage points. Police swarmed the streets, threatening to arrest any person who seemed to cast a glance in the direction of the elephantine Musashi. Watch posts were erected within the yard itself, and guards posted on them with high-powered binoculars to scan the hills. Ferry windows were painted over so that commuters crossing the harbor could not peer into the yard. Eventually, the shipyard hung vast hemp-rope screens, 75,000 square meters altogether, to shield the great ship from prying eyes.
The interior of the Musashi was a vast maze, a seemingly endless progression of passageways, ladders, and warrens, and very few men actually knew their way around the ship. No plans were provided to the workers by the security-obsessed architects, so they had to make do with their own crude hand-drawn maps, which had to be destroyed at the end of each work day. Many were reluctant to descend too deeply into the obsidian labyrinth, fearing they might never again emerge. The fear was well placed, for shipyard workers often did lose their way. Some carried pieces of chalk to leave trail marks, and the working parties took roll calls at quitting time to be sure than none was missing.
...
Her launch was so secretive that only thirty guests were invited to witness it, all high-ranking officials of the navy and government. The residents of Nagasaki were ordered to stay inside their homes until given an all-clear. Curtains were to be drawn across all harbor-facing windows. Even the police officers who were sent to patrol the streets were ordered to turn their own backs at the moment of launch.
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