On one end stood Hirosaki Castle, a 400-ton landmark that has survived wars, fires and earthquakes. On the other was a group of about 80 schoolchildren, armed with ropes, yellow gloves and a tenacious spirit.
The people of Hirosaki, Japan, had been tasked with the herculean feat of pulling the historic castle by hand. And while buildings are not typically measured in weight, on this mission, every stone, every copper sheet, every wooden beam counted.
Gritting their teeth and bending their knees on Saturday, the children seized the ropes attached to the castle’s foundation. Chanting “so-re,” or “heave-ho,” they began to pull.
“It was so heavy!” said Yuri Akaishi, 10. Her twin sister, Liri, agreed. “I didn’t get any sense it actually moved,” she said.
By day’s end, the castle had, in fact, moved — by 27 centimeters, or almost a foot. The children, about 480 total working in shifts, were taking part in the ancient tradition of hikiya, which involves moving buildings with ropes and rollers rather than dismantling them. They were trying to move Hirosaki Castle’s keep — its central, most fortified part — closer to its original base.
In 2015, the keep had to be moved because an earthquake damaged a stone wall underneath the structure. (Residents also helped pull the castle that time.) With the repairs recently completed, the city of Hirosaki summoned the public again to help move the castle back.
Over five days in August, more than 3,000 adults tried their hand, moving the castle about a dozen feet. Teams of about 80 people took turns pulling the ropes. This weekend, children took center stage, about 900 in all.
Heavy machinery will be used for the final leg of the castle’s journey later this year. The castle is expected to reopen to tourists in 2033, following further repairs.
The project has helped bring together the residents of Hirosaki, a city of about 157,000 people near the northern tip of Japan’s main island, and revived interest in the castle, which was built by a samurai family known as the Tsugaru clan. Hirosaki Castle is one of only about a dozen original keeps that remain in Japan; many similar structures were destroyed in World War II.
“I felt the weight of the tradition,” said Naoki Akaishi, the father of Liri and Yuri. “I feel I am directly involved in history.”
Hirosaki Castle was built in 1611, but suffered major damage in a fire in 1627. The keep was not rebuilt until 1810.
In 1983, disaster struck again, when the city of Hirosaki was hit by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The wall underneath the castle swelled, raising fears that it could collapse. After the castle was moved in 2015, the city finally began repairs on the wall, with its 2,172 stones meticulously labeled so they could be put back in the same order.
The castle-pulling event drew interest from across Japan and overseas. The city of Hirosaki said it had received more than 10,000 applications to participate.
On Saturday, an announcer provided encouragement, telling the children that the castle was as heavy as 80 elephants or a large aircraft. She reminded them to brace themselves.
“Give it all you’ve got!” she said.
Some families that helped move the castle in 2015 returned this month to help finish the job.
Sayumi Kubo, 43, brought her 15-year-old son, Rei, who helped in 2015, and her youngest son, Aoi, 6, who was participating for the first time. Aoi said he could finally feel the castle move slightly on his third try.
Ms. Kubo said it was a “precious experience” for Hirosaki’s residents to be part of the project.
“I am so proud of the castle, and I have even stronger affections for the castle since we were able to be involved with the project,” she said. “I am sure the love for this castle will remain strong.”
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