I've been led to believe that this battleship was viewed as more than just a weapon in Japan during and after its construction, and it has since been memorialized in many ways. How did the Japanese people react to the news that their invincible battleship had been sunk in a relatively one-sided battle? How did the Japanese government try to break the news?
To tack onto this question, how long did it take for the average civilian to actually learn about Yamato's sinking? My understanding is that the Japanese government had a fairly effective gag order on new about the sinking of ships.
Also another followup question: did people's reactions towards its loss change following the end of the war or as people's attitudes towards the IJN changed?