Hirosaki, en.SERU.co.id — Thousands of residents and visitors in northern Japan are taking turns pulling the roughly 400-ton main tower of Hirosaki Castle with ropes as the historic structure is moved back to its original position.
By Wednesday, August 26, the three-story wooden keep had been shifted 3.64 meters using human power alone.
The effort uses hikiya, a traditional Japanese technique for relocating buildings without dismantling them. Groups of about 80 people pull 30-meter ropes while chanting “so-re, so-re.” On Wednesday, the final day of the main public pulling sessions, 290 participants moved the tower 45 centimeters.
“It’s like trying to move a mountain,” said Takahiro Kogawa, a 56-year-old Hirosaki resident, after taking part in the effort.
Azusa Nimiya, 46, a castle enthusiast who traveled from Shimane Prefecture, described the experience as a once-in-a-lifetime memory.
The event has attracted strong public interest. Kensuke Hayasaka of Hirosaki City said about 8,000 people applied for 1,800 participation slots over the previous two days. Participants have traveled from across Japan and overseas, including Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.
Why Hirosaki Castle Was Moved
The castle keep was originally shifted about 78 to 80 meters in 2015 to allow engineers to repair its supporting stone walls. The walls had been damaged by the 1983 Sea of Japan earthquake and were considered at risk of collapse.
Rather than dismantling the nationally designated important cultural property, engineers lifted the entire wooden structure and moved it along metal rails to a temporary platform.
The stone wall repairs were completed in December 2024, after all 2,185 stones were returned to their original positions. The keep is now being moved back to its original location.
“Because the keep is a nationally designated important cultural property, we didn’t take it apart. We’re using hikiya, a building-relocation method that has existed in Japan since ancient times,” Hayasaka said.
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Castle Expected to Return by November
Hirosaki Castle is one of only 12 original castle keeps remaining in Japan and the only one in the Tohoku region. The current tower was rebuilt in 1810 after the original structure was destroyed by lightning in 1627.
Public pulling events are scheduled to continue through the end of August, including activities for children on August 29 and 30. About 4,000 people are expected to participate in the public effort, moving the tower roughly five meters in total.
Heavy machinery will then be used to move the remaining approximately 73 meters beginning in September. Officials aim to permanently return the keep to its original foundation by November 2026, before heavy winter snowfall arrives.
“Our goal is to preserve this unique heritage, while ensuring that the main tower is securely fixed to its base before the first snowfall,” Hayasaka said.
