Hundreds Pull Historic 360-Tonne Japanese Castle by Hand

In Japan, hundreds of volunteers helped guide part of a 360-tonne castle back into place, pulling it more than six feet inch by inch after major renovation work.

Around 1,800 participants assembled over the weekend in Aomori Prefecture to haul thick ropes fastened to the keep of Hirosaki Castle, according to The Independent.

The keep, a fortified tower at the heart of the castle, had been shifted to allow crews to repair a wall damaged by a powerful earthquake. That wall has now been restored, with all 2,185 stones carefully placed back in their original locations.

Working in rotating groups, the volunteers relied on an old Japanese method called hikiya, a preservation technique in which entire structures are set on rollers or rails and moved without being dismantled. The approach is often used to protect historic buildings that could otherwise be damaged or lost.

“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,” Kensuke Hayasaka, who leads Hirosaki City’s parks and green spaces division, told The Guardian.

Hayasaka said interest extended well beyond the local community, drawing applicants from across Japan and abroad, including many from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.

Pulling the castle keep by hand will continue through the end of August, with about 4,100 people scheduled to move it a total of more than 16 feet, The Guardian reported.

The Hirosaki Castle keep was originally a five-story tower, but it was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1627, the newspaper reported, citing the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The current three-story structure was rebuilt in 1811. Many Japanese castles were dismantled after the end of the Samurai era in 1868 or were destroyed during World War II.