大和 - "Yamato" (lit. "Great Harmony") isn't just the name of an ancient province of Japan, but it was also the name of ancient Japan itself. Because of this, the battleship Yamato was seen as a symbol and pride of Japan, and has been referenced in many other games or anime. Battleship Yamato was, along with her sister ship, Musashi, the largest battleships ever built.
Depicted as having longbrown hair in a ponytail with multiple cherry blossoms in her hair, and often carrying an oil-paper umbrella with a shaft based on the battleship's distinctive mast. She wears a single thighhigh, which, with her first remodel, bears the inspirational slogan that her admiral posted for the suicidal Operation Ten-Go (the final operation the IJN undertook, where Yamato, Yahagi, and numerous destroyers were sunk by American aircraft). On her left biceps is an armband made from a "Z" maritime signal flag, which was used at the 1905 Battle of Tsushima to convey a similar message: "The fate of the Empire depends on the result of this battle; let every man do his utmost." She also wears what appear to be the ballistic caps from a pair of Type 3 anti-aircraft shells under her clothes, covering her breasts; the caps are revealed in her "damaged" art. These are either some sort of strapless bra, compact strapless muneate or breast pads. The shells, and the fact that Yamato used to be only modestly busty, led to many breast envy jokes. However, Yamato's official artist Yoshinori has steadily increased her bust size over the years, as can be seen in her summer CG, similar to Tenryuu. This has never been explained, but seems to be the new standard, and so the breast envy jokes aren't common anymore.
In a campaign with Lawson in October 2019, she became the new Lawson shipgirl, wearing the uniform top along with appropriate pants and shoes.
Personality
Because her historical counterpart had a career mostly based around impressing people, Yamato is often depicted as a shy and soft-spoken housewife.
History
Yamato was historically referred to as "Hotel Yamato" by other members of the IJN who went to the front line, due to the fact that she was never used in combat until late in the war, when defeat was certain. She had war council rooms, (relatively) luxurious quarters for the flag staff, civilians for cooking, hairdressing, and sewing, and even air conditioning, which was unheard of for a Japanese warship.
Yamato only fired her massive 460 mm guns in the battle once during the Battle of Samar to finish off Gambier Bay, this is the only confirmed kill of Yamato during her entire career. She was sunk on 7 April 1945 during the Operation Ten-Go desperate counter-offensive, in which she was bombarded with dozens of bombs and torpedoes before being sunk off southern Kyushu.
