Hundreds of volunteers pull 360-tonne historic Japanese castle back into place by hand
Hirosaki Castle's centuries-old keep crept back into its original footprint over the weekend in Aomori Prefecture, moved inch by inch by roughly 1,800 volunteers hauling on thick ropes in a centuries-old Japanese preservation technique.
The 360-tonne wooden tower had been temporarily shifted about six feet from its historic position so crews could rebuild a section of the surrounding stone wall damaged by a major earthquake. All 2,185 stones that make up that section have now been reset in their original places, allowing the keep to begin its journey home.
Organizers said demand to take part in the rope-pulling effort was striking. About 8,000 people applied for the 1,800 volunteer slots made available over two days — roughly four times the number of spaces available. Participants came not only from Hirosaki itself but from across Japan and overseas, including visitors from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.
"They came not only from the city, but from across Japan and overseas; a fair number from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America," said Kensuke Hayasaka, who heads the parks and green spaces division for Hirosaki City.
The method used by the rotating teams is known as hikiya, a traditional Japanese approach to sliding buildings intact along rollers or rails. It is one of the techniques that has allowed many of the country's historic wooden structures to survive earthquakes, modernization and war without being dismantled.
The pulling is scheduled to continue through the end of August, with about 4,100 people in total expected to participate and the keep set to travel more than 16 feet before it is fully returned to its original site.
The keep itself has a layered history. It was first built as a five-story tower and stood for centuries before being destroyed by a lightning strike in 1627, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. The current three-story structure was completed in 1811, making it more than two centuries old. Like many of Japan's castles, it narrowly avoided the wave of demolitions that swept through the country's feudal fortifications at the end of the Samurai era in 1868 or the destruction of World War II.
The earthquake that prompted the wall repairs — and the careful temporary relocation of the keep — was part of a string of powerful tremors that have struck northern Japan in recent years, including a magnitude 7.7 event off the coast that prompted tsunami warnings. The episode has given preservationists in Hirosaki a fresh reminder of why centuries-old techniques like hikiya remain part of the country's disaster toolkit: when the ground shakes again, the ability to lift, shift and set down a 360-tonne wooden tower by hand may prove just as valuable as it is now.