1,800 volunteers pull 400-ton Japanese castle after decade-long restoration
In a remarkable achievement, thousands of volunteers in Japan successfully relocated a historic castle keep using age-old techniques. This monumental task represents a critical advancement in a decade-long restoration initiative. The keep has been repositioned closer to its original stone foundation, revealing archaeological treasures like ancient drainage systems and remnants of earlier walls.…
In Hirosaki, northern Japan, a massive effort by 1,800 volunteers brought a 400-tonne historic castle keep back to its original location after a decade-long restoration. The historic castle, built in 1611, had been moved 70 meters in 2015 to repair the damaged stone foundation walls weakened by earthquakes. Traditional Japanese engineering method, hikiya, was used to move the keep using heavy ropes and rollers.
The public-hauled move, oversubscribed by four times, brought together locals, history enthusiasts, and tourists from across Japan and beyond. The castle, now one of 12 surviving original feudal-era keeps in Japan, is expected to fully reopen to visitors in 2033 after completion of conservation work.
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