Photo: Kyodo News/Getty Images.
People pull on ropes attached to a platform carrying the Hirosaki Castle keep in northeastern Japan in August 2026.
I remember watching when New Shoreham’s 2,000-ton Southeast Lighthouse was moved back from eroding bluffs in 1993. International Chimney Company and Expert House Movers, Inc. did the job, using heavy equipment.
In Japan, they do things differently. Gavin Blair writes at the Guardian about how 1,800 people were enlisted to drag a 360-ton castle keep by means of ropes and rollers. They had to turn away eager volunteers!
“To chants of ‘so-re, so-re,’ about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan [in August] to pull a 360-ton castle keep a little more than two meters [~7 feet] closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations.
“The keep – a fortified tower within a castle – had to be moved to repair a wall that was damaged in a major earthquake.
“Rotating teams of 80 people heaved on 30-meter ropes as the keep of Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture edged closer to its destination. On Saturday participants towed the building – which has been set on rails – 1.13m, while on Sunday it was shifted another 1.09m.
“ ‘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,’ Kensuke Hayasaka, head of the parks and green spaces division at Hirosaki City, told the Guardian. ‘Not only from the city, but from across Japan and overseas; a fair number from south-east Asia and from Europe and North America.’
“In order to preserve the historic structure, a technique known as hikiya – whereby buildings are put on rollers and moved rather than dismantled – was used. In 2015 the city put out a call for people to come and participate directly. …
” ‘Because the keep is a nationally designated important cultural property, we didn’t take it apart,’ Hayasaka said. ‘We’re using hikiya, a building-relocation method that has existed in Japan since ancient times.’ …
“Motoharu Nakata, 61, travelled from Hiroshima at the other end of Japan. ‘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,’ Nakata told the Sankei Shimbun. …
“It is a symbolic, community-building effort and the rest of the about 73m will be carried out using machinery by the end of the year. …
“The current structure was rebuilt in 1810 and the castle is now the centerpiece of a park that draws about 2 million visitors each year during cherry-blossom season. … Hayasaka said, ‘As things stand, we expect it to reopen to visitors in 2033.’ ”
More at the Guardian, here.
Photo:Suzanne and John’s Mom.
The Southeast Lighthouse, moved 3,000 feet inland by International Chimney Company and Expert House Movers in 1993.
