How reconnaissance protected Japan's decisive-battle plan

Did Japanese decisive-battle planning consider an American move to block the fleet near its home waters, as at Jutland?

Yes. Japan planned to use cruisers, reconnaissance aircraft, and submarines to keep track of the American fleet, though that screen could fail if the Americans attacked it effectively.

The question compares a possible American approach to a Jutland-like attempt to trap the enemy near its home waters. Japanese planners did consider the danger of an American fleet slipping into their rear. Their answer was a layered screen of cruisers, reconnaissance aircraft, and submarines intended to maintain near-continuous contact with the approaching force. The system probably had enough depth to survive ordinary bad luck if events followed the plan. It became much less secure if the Americans deliberately hunted the watchers, especially once radar and night interception overturned prewar assumptions that aircraft could hide in darkness or cloud.