Approximately 1,800 volunteers gathered over a weekend to help move a 360-tonne keep of Hirosaki Castle in Japan's Aomori Prefecture more than six feet back into its original position. The relocation was necessary to complete repairs on a wall damaged by a major earthquake.
The ancient Japanese technique known as hikiya, which involves moving structures intact using rollers or rails, was employed for the task. This method is utilized to preserve historic Japanese buildings.
Teams of participants pulled large ropes attached to the castle keep, rotating in shifts. The wall has since been rebuilt, with all 2,185 stones returned to their original places.
According to Kensuke Hayasaka, head of the parks and green spaces division in Hirosaki City, there was significant public interest in participating. "We had about 8,000 applications for the 1,800 slots over the last two days, roughly four times oversubscribed, so not everyone could participate," Hayasaka stated. Participants traveled from across Japan and from overseas, including Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America.
The manual pulling of the castle keep is scheduled to continue through the end of August. A total of about 4,100 people are expected to participate in moving the structure more than 16 feet.
The original Hirosaki Castle was a five-story tower that was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1627. The current three-story structure was rebuilt in 1811. Many Japanese castles were dismantled or destroyed in the years following the end of the Samurai era in 1868 and during World War II.
