Get you up to speed: Hundreds pull giant castle for repairs in epic tug-of-war | News World
Approximately 1,800 volunteers moved the 360-tonne Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, as part of a refurbishment project. The castle was relocated using a traditional technique known as hikiya, with the project set to continue for another week.
The moving process for Hirosaki Castle is expected to take another week, employing approximately 4,100 volunteers in total to shift the structure by 16 feet. Following the relocation, refurbishment efforts will persist, with the castle projected to remain closed to visitors until 2033.
Kensuke Hayasaka, head of the parks and green spaces division with Hirosaki City, stated that the initiative received approximately 8,000 applications for the 1,800 available slots, indicating significant public interest. The castle’s refurbishment is anticipated to extend beyond the current relocation efforts, with reopening not expected until 2033.
What remains unclear — It is not specified when the entire refurbishment of Hirosaki Castle will be completed after the castle has been moved.
Thousands participate in tug-of-war to move Hirosaki Castle for repairs
If you have ever wondered what a game of human vs castle would look like, look no further.
Almost 2,000 strong-armed volunteers proved in northern Japan that with enough people, anything will move, even a 360-tonne castle.
They had enlisted to drag the giant structure by hand, with the historic Hirosaki Castle known for its cherry blossom garden propped on rollers and tied to ropes.
The astonishing show of strength, determination and organisation was on display in the Aomori prefecture on Saturday, where the castle needed moving to its original spot as part of a refurbishment.
The towering castle was moved with sheer human strength, with a little bit of help from a traditional technique known as hikiya (Picture: Kyodo/Newscom / Newscom / Avalon)
The castle, made up of a fortified tower inside it, had to be moved little more than six feet as part of the works, which have been ongoing since an earthquake wreaked havoc in 2015.
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In total, 1,800 people were needed for the job, but around 8,000 people had put their name forward and applied for the game of tug-of-war.
Organised in groups of 80 people, the participants, equipped with gloves, latched onto the 98 ft ropes to pull the building for the first three feet and seven inches.
Then on Sunday, the participants moved it another 42 inches while chants of ‘so-re, so-re’ (go on in English) rang through the air to set the pace.
Hiroki Castle has been undergoing renovations since the 2015 earthquake damage (Picture: X/@hirosaki_promo)
Kensuke Hayasaka, the head of the parks and green spaces division with Hirosaki City, told the Guardian: ‘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.’
The options for the castle were either dismantling or moving it using the traditional technique called hikiya.
It has been used in Japan for at least 400 years to move entire buildings and is most common in road-widening projects.
The technique is back in the spotlight after being used to preserve heritage sites.
And after a public call-out by the city council in 2015, the Hirosaki Castle project became the first time in a century a citizen-powered hikiya has been used to move a building.
Some fans had travelled from far and wide to take part in the 2026 hikiya.
Motoharu Nakata, 61, had taken part in the first tug-of-war and had travelled to the site again.
He told the Sankei Shimbun outlet: ‘I pulled it 11 years ago too. It’s very moving to be able to participate again. There’s absolutely no other opportunity to pull a castle, it was fantastic.’
The mammoth project will continue for another week with the help of around 4,100 people in total, who will pull the castle for 16 feet.
However, the refurbishment will continue even after the castle is firmly on its original spot.
It is not expected to reopen to visitors until 2033.
The iconic castle was built by the Tsugaru samurai family in 1611, but it burned down in 1627 after a gunpowder accident.
The current structure was erected in 1810.
Hirosaki city at the foot of Mount Iwaki is one of Japan’s top spots for seeing the cherry blossoms or sakura, which pop up between March and April.
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