1,800 Volunteers Manually Drag 360-Tonne Hirosaki Castle Keep to Preserve Historic Structure
In Aomori, Japan, approximately 1,800 volunteers participated in a traditional manual relocation of the 360-tonne keep of Hirosaki Castle. Using the ancient technique of hikiya, which involves moving structures on rollers rather than dismantling them, the crowd shifted the historic tower by over two metres over a weekend. This effort is part of a larger preservation project following earthquake damage, with the structure scheduled to reopen to the public in 2033.