Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers

<p>After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as <em>hikiya</em> to move the structure more than two metres</p><p>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.</p><p>The keep – a fortified tower within a castle – had to be moved to repair a wall that was damaged in a major earthquake.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/25/japan-1800-people-move-pull-400-tonne-hirosaki-castle-with-ropes">Continue reading...</a>