Overview
- Hirosaki officials said the keep advanced 3.64 metres after coordinated rope‑pulling by rotating teams between August 22 and 26 as part of the staged return to its original footprint.
- The move used hikiya, a centuries‑old technique that places the building on rails and rollers so it can be moved intact, a choice driven by the keep’s status as an Important Cultural Property that ruled out dismantling.
- About 1,800 volunteers took part in the hand‑powered sessions drawn by lottery from roughly 8,000 applicants, turning the operation into a large civic event with rotating groups managing the pulls.
- Organizers plan for volunteers to cover roughly the first five metres of the roughly 78‑metre return before specialized machinery completes the remaining distance this year and conservation crews carry out seismic reinforcement.
- The relocation follows a wall‑repair phase that finished in December 2024 after experts catalogued and reassembled 2,185 stones, and the site will remain closed during work through fiscal 2032 with reopening expected around 2033.