Ōfuna prisoner-of-war camp

The Ōfuna Camp (大船収容所, Ōfuna shūyōsho) was an Imperial Japanese Navy installation located in Kamakura, outside Yokohama, Japan during World War II, where high-value enlisted and officers, particularly pilots and submariner prisoners of war were incarcerated and interrogated by Japanese naval intelligence.

The Ōfuna Camp was opened on April 26, 1942, and was operated by a detachment of the Guard Unit of the Yokosuka Naval District.

The buildings were of unpainted wood roofed with tar paper, and had a long central corridor with thirty rooms to a side, each about six by nine feet (1.83 by 2.74 meters), a single electric light, bunk, bamboo mat, and door with a small window.

In good weather, they were allowed to sit outside their cells, looking straight forward, and the rule of silence was strictly enforced.

Three crew members of the USS Perch (SS-176) remained at Ōfuna for the duration of the war and were used to intercept Allied radio traffic.

As the prisoners sent to Ōfuna were primarily officers, who might have inside knowledge of Allied strategy, or others working in critical areas such as communications and submarines, it was the goal of the Japanese to extract as much information as possible in a short time.

The names of the prisoners held at Ōfuna were not divulged to the Red Cross, and the camp was so secret that even local inhabitants were not aware of its existence.

Refusing to answer questions, lying, disrespect to the interrogators, and a number of other infractions were punished by a beating with wooden clubs.