Hundreds of volunteers move a 400-ton castle tower in northern Japan with ropes

Hundreds of Japanese volunteers have been moving a tower of approximately 400 tons that belongs to the Japanese castle of Hirosaki, in Aomori prefecture, with ropes to move it to its original location after a decade of restoration work.

“Thanks to the participation of so many people, the main tower, which weighs approximately 400 tons, has moved 364 centimeters during a period of five days between Saturday, August 22 and Wednesday, August 26,” the city of Hirosaki said this Wednesday on its social networks.

The structure was moved in 2015 to undertake restoration works on the stone walls on which it stood due to a possible risk of collapse. Throughout the year, the tower will travel a total of 78 meters to return to its original location.

The goal is for 4,000 volunteers to participate in moving the tower the first five meters using human power – through a traditional technique known as hikiya, which consists of pulling thick ropes and dragging the structure along rails – before the machines complete the remaining journey.

The 17th-century castle is famous for its feudal architecture and for being the highlight of cherry blossoms in the northern region of Honshu. Of the hundreds of castles that existed in Japan, only 12 retain their main tower.