Overview
- Selected groups of volunteers physically pulled ropes to advance the castle’s main tower during coordinated sessions held over the weekend of Aug. 22–23, with municipal updates extending activity through Aug. 26.
- City officials say the structure moved more than three meters between Aug. 22 and Aug. 26 while some media reported about 2.2 meters moved over Aug. 22–23, reflecting small differences in how progress was measured.
- About 1,800 volunteer slots were filled from roughly 8,000 applicants, and participants came from Hirosaki, other parts of Japan and abroad to take turns pulling in organized groups.
- The move used the traditional hikiya method — the tower sits on rails and rollers while teams pull long ropes — and sources put the timber-and-stone structure’s weight at roughly 360–400 tonnes.
- This is the first, volunteer-led stage of a phased return: the initial manual pull covers the first few meters and specialized machinery will complete the remaining roughly 73–78 meters, with conservation work keeping the tower closed to the public until 2032.