Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers
Approximately 1,800 volunteers in Japan used a traditional rope-pulling technique called hikiya to move a 360-tonne castle keep. The historic structure was relocated to facilitate repairs to a wall damaged by an earthquake.
Why it matters
This event highlights the preservation of ancient engineering techniques and community-driven efforts to maintain cultural heritage sites.
People pull on ropes attached to a platform carrying the Hirosaki Castle keep in north-eastern Japan at the weekend. ‘It was fantastic,’ one participant says. People pull on ropes attached to a platform carrying the Hirosaki Castle keep in north-eastern Japan at the weekend. ‘It was fantastic,’ one participant says. Japan Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metres
Prefer the Guardian on Google To chants of “so-re, so-re”, about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan over the weekend to pull a 360-tonne castle keep a little more than two metres closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations.
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