In northern Japan, thousands of volunteers are participating in an extraordinary restoration effort: manually pulling the main tower of Hirosaki Castle back to its original foundation using only ropes (and human strength). The three-story wooden structure weighs approximately 400 tons.
The castle dates to Japan's shogunate era. Its current main tower was constructed in 1810 after the original 17th-century structure was destroyed by lightning. Groups of roughly 80 volunteers take turns pulling the building, advancing it only a few centimeters at a time. So far, about 4,000 people have participated in the effort.
The tower was moved about 80 meters from its base in 2015 to allow restoration of the deteriorating stone walls beneath it. Now it is making the journey back.
"It's like trying to move a mountain," one participant told a French news agency. Another volunteer who traveled from afar to take part described it as "a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a precious and unique memory."
Heavy machinery will take over next month to complete the move, and the castle is expected to be permanently repositioned on its foundation in November. The restoration project manager explained that involving the public was intended to allow people "to experience history in a physical way."
