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Hirosaki Moves 400-Tonne Castle Keep 2.22 Meters

8/25/2026

49 9 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Hirosaki City officials organized 1,800 volunteers to pull the 400-tonne castle keep using the hikiya method.
Volunteers shifted the keep 1.13 m Saturday and 1.09 m Sunday, totaling 2.22 m.
About 8,000 applicants competed for the 1,800 slots, making the event four times oversubscribed.
Organizers aim to move the keep 5 m by late August using public pulls.
Machinery will shift the remaining ~73 m, with the castle slated to reopen to visitors in 2033.

History

Historical Context

Completed in 706 AD, Horyu-ji’s 24-metre three-story pagoda has been repeatedly dismantled and rebuilt, notably between 1970 and 1975, demonstrating Japan’s practice of large-scale communal restoration. After its 1993 UNESCO designation, the model inspired Hirosaki City’s recent volunteer-driven shift of a castle keep, showing continuity of public participation in heritage preservation.

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Story summary

Hirosaki City officials organized 1,800 volunteers to pull the 400-tonne castle keep using the hikiya method.
Volunteers shifted the keep 1.13 m Saturday and 1.09 m Sunday, totaling 2.22 m.
About 8,000 applicants competed for the 1,800 slots, making the event four times oversubscribed.
Organizers aim to move the keep 5 m by late August using public pulls.
Machinery will shift the remaining ~73 m, with the castle slated to reopen to visitors in 2033.

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