Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metres To chants of “so-re, so-re”, about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan over the weekend to pull a 360-tonne castle keep a little more than two metres closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations. The keep – a fortified…
In Aomori prefecture, Japan, over 1,800 individuals gathered over the weekend to assist in moving the 360-tonne Hirosaki Castle keep forward by more than two metres. The structure, a fortified tower within the castle, required this movement to repair a damaged wall caused by a major earthquake. Rotating teams of 80 people hauled on 30-metre ropes, with the keep on rails, progressing 1.13 metres on Saturday and an additional 1.09 metres on Sunday.
Despite receiving over 8,000 applications for the limited 1,800 slots, participation was far from universal, with many eager participants from across Japan and even overseas, including Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. The technique employed, known as hikiya, involves moving buildings on rollers instead of dismantling them, a method first used in 2015 for this castle. This was the first instance of citizen-driven hikiya and the first time in a century that a castle was moved using this method.
The move was crucial for preserving the historically significant structure, which is a nationally designated important cultural property. Unlike traditional dismantling, hikiya allowed the castle to remain intact during the repair process. Kensuke Hayasaka, head of the parks and green spaces division at Hirosaki City, explained that the city received a deluge of interest, with four times the number of applicants seeking participation.
Work on restoring the castle continues, with the wall completed in December 2024 after all 2,185 stones were meticulously restacked in their original positions. This year, officials have once again called for public assistance to pull the keep back to its original position, with the task expected to involve about 4,100 people moving it a total of 5 metres.
The process, expected to conclude by August, is both symbolic and a community-building effort, with the remaining 73 million units to be completed using machinery by the end of the year.
The Hirosaki Castle keep is one of just 12 such structures remaining in Japan, making the northern Tohoku region the sole location of this type of architectural marvel. Built in 1611 by the Tsugaru clan after its original keep was destroyed by fire in 1627, the current castle stands as the centerpiece of a park that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually during cherry blossom season.
Due to major renovations, the keep will be inaccessible to tourists for years. Once successfully moved, the castle's preservation work will continue, with the entire structure expected to reopen to visitors by 2033.
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