{"id":5898,"date":"2026-08-26T19:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/hundreds-of-volunteers-pull-360-tonne-historic-japanese-castle-back-into-place-by-hand\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T19:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:21:14","slug":"hundreds-of-volunteers-pull-360-tonne-historic-japanese-castle-back-into-place-by-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/hundreds-of-volunteers-pull-360-tonne-historic-japanese-castle-back-into-place-by-hand\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of volunteers pull 360-tonne historic Japanese castle back into place by hand"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Japan enlisted<\/a> the help of hundreds of volunteers to move a portion of a 360-tonne castle more than six feet back into position, inch by inch, following renovations to the structure.<\/p>\n

About 1,800 people gathered over the weekend to pull large ropes attached to the Hirosaki Castle keep in Aomori Prefecture<\/a>, The Independent<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

The keep \u2014 which is a fortified tower within a castle \u2014 was moved so repairs could be completed on a wall damaged during a major earthquake. The wall has since been rebuilt, with all 2,185 stones returned to their original positions.<\/p>\n

JAPAN MALL REBUILT AFTER DEADLY 2016 EARTHQUAKE DESTROYED IN MAJOR TEMBLOR WEEKS AFTER ‘FRESH START’ REOPENING<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Participants pull Hirosaki Castle using ropes to its original position following repair works in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Wednesday.<\/span> (AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rotating teams used an ancient technique known as hikiya<\/a>, in which buildings are placed on rollers or rails and moved intact. The technique is used to preserve historic Japanese buildings that might otherwise be damaged or destroyed.<\/p>\n

“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, head of the parks and green spaces division in Hirosaki City, told The Guardian.<\/p>\n

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Participants pull Hirosaki Castle using ropes back to its original position after repair work in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture.<\/span> (AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Not only from the city, but from across Japan and overseas; a fair number from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.”<\/p>\n

MASSIVE 7.7-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HITS OFF JAPANESE COAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Participants pull Hirosaki Castle using ropes in Hirosaki.<\/span> (AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Participants take pictures after pulling Hirosaki Castle.<\/span> (AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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

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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Japan enlisted the help of hundreds of volunteers to move a portion of a 360-tonne castle more than six feet back into position, inch by inch, following renovations to the structure. About 1,800 people gathered over the weekend to pull large ropes attached to the Hirosaki Castle…<\/p>\n

Read More “Hundreds of volunteers pull 360-tonne historic Japanese castle back into place by hand”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/japan-castle-move-004.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4534,1335,2972],"class_list":["post-5898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-heritage","tag-japan","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"\nHundreds of volunteers pull 360-tonne historic Japanese castle back into place by hand - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/hundreds-of-volunteers-pull-360-tonne-historic-japanese-castle-back-into-place-by-hand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hundreds of volunteers pull 360-tonne historic Japanese castle back into place by hand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Japan enlisted the help of hundreds of volunteers to move a portion of a 360-tonne castle more than six feet back into position, inch by inch, following renovations to the structure. 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