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[Music]
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[Music]
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Japan's castles are a legacy of the
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samurai era to maintain their splendor
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they sometimes require intricate repairs
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such as moving a heavy key replacing
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countless roof tiles or rebuilding walls
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made of thousands of stones to preserve
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these priceless historical and cultural
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treasures requires a huge investment in
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April 2016 Kumamoto Castle suffered
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heavy earthquake damage restoration work
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began soon after this time on Japanese
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plus we'll examine the art of restoring
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Japanese castles
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[Music]
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[Music]
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hello and welcome to Jaffa knology plus
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MP American our theme for today
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restoring castles might seem a little
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bit richer say in fact Japan does have a
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large number of castles and restoration
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work is quite common I mean Hirosaki in
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almaty Prefecture in the far north of
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Japan and the castle here is actually an
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undergoing extensive restoration work at
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the moment on top of that stone wall
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behind me here you would normally expect
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to see the main castle building but it's
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vanished and we'll tell you where it's
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gone in just a little while this is how
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a hirosaki castle usually looks the keep
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Rises nearly 15 meters above the stone
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wall it was constructed in 1810 during
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the samurai era as one of japan's few
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original castles still standing today it
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is a designated important cultural
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property
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kirisaki castle is surrounded by cherry
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blossom trees it's one of japan's most
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popular spots for viewing the blossoms
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[Music]
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during the 600 years of the samurai era
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many castles were built sadly most were
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destroyed as a result of shifting
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political fortunes earthquakes and even
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air raids today Japan has more than 90
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castles with keeps many re constructions
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done in the past 150 years nationwide
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there are 12 castles whose original
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keeps from earlier times are still
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standing
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[Music]
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the oldest of these originals were built
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around 400 years ago all have undergone
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large-scale repairs at some point in
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order to preserve their beauty and
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historical significance hello hello nice
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to see you again nice to see you too I
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guess for today is mr. Yoshiki door
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sender who's an archaeologist
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specializing in castles who was a guest
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on this program a couple of years ago
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and you're also a member of the
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restoration committee for hirosaki
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castle I know let's talk a little bit
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about what happened to the main castle
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keep here which is disappeared from
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where it should be a missing keep does
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make you wonder but it's in a safe place
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let me show you where the keep is now
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okay come this way this is the castle
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keep Wow
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less than a minutes walk away is the
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keep what is it doing here actually the
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keep normally stands on those stone
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walls over there but those walls the one
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supporting the keep were damaged in
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order to repair the stone walls the keep
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was lifted set on Rails and moved 80
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meters I mean this is a fairly large
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structure and I assume it's pretty heavy
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as well how do they do that
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they lifted it hydraulically intact as
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it was and then moved it the keep of
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hirosaki castle weighs about 400 tons in
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June 2015 the project to move it began
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in earnest
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the plan was to lift the keep from the
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walls in one piece and move it to a
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temporary foundation it was important to
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avoid the cherry blossom trees so the
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keep would have to change direction
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twice on its 80 meter trip even for the
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building movers who took on the project
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all of them local experts it was a
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serious challenge no blueprints of the
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keep existed and due to its age many of
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its walls and columns had cracks
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moreover the entire structure was
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leaning by about 30 centimeters without
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fixing that first it might fall to
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pieces when moved but hirosaki castle is
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an important cultural property risking
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damage was out of the question
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[Music]
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in July 2015
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materials begin arriving on site first
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to be delivered are 16 long steel
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girders the keep has 11 interior columns
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they will be held firmly in place by the
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steel girders then the girders will be
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jacked up to lift the building but the
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other fifty two columns are encased
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within walls and cannot be lifted that
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way
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so the plan is to use z-shaped steel
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brackets like this to raise all the
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walls at the same time as all the
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girders the work of installing the steel
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girders begins wooden bumpers prevent
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the girders from damaging the wood
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columns at this point a problem is
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discovered there is not enough space
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under the walls for the brackets to be
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fully inserted the plan must be changed
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I think we'll have to use a claw Jack a
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claw Jack can lift a wall even if it
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cannot be fully inserted underneath but
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these ones operate independently from
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the jacks under the girders there are 27
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Jack's fitted to lift the columns and
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ten independent clawed jacks everything
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must be controlled separately if they
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are not kept perfectly in sync the key
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will break up all the jacks are reached
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for remote operation on the left side of
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the control panel are the jacks for the
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columns on the right the ones for the
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walls first the leaning keep is levelled
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out this task is carried out by
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coordinating with workers inside the
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structure
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you ready go the hydraulic pressure is
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gradually increased in the jags for the
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walls and columns
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the amount of vertical travel of each
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column is monitored with millimeter
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precision five to go
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five to go okay to lift the key while
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simultaneously leveling it out demands
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constant split-second decisions about
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which jacks to operate the lean is
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corrected and the keep successfully
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lifted off its foundation by sixty
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centimeters without causing any cracks
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in the walls or columns now it's time to
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move the key
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[Music]
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eighteen dollars under the girders allow
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the keep to roll along a set of rails it
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is moved in 30 centimeter increments the
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direction changes are negotiated
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smoothly over a period of two months the
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keep travels the 80 meters to its
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temporary foundation where it is
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successfully fixed in place
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[Music]
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the move of the two-hundred-year-old
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castle keep is a success
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now the next step of the restoration can
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commence fixing the damaged stone walls
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so here we are right beside one of the
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stone walls over there at the highest
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point is the foundation of the keep the
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keep stood there now take a look at the
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stone wall in front of us here I think
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you'll be able to see places where it
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needs a repair it's pretty clear that
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bit over there is it's quite flat and
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straight but it's kind of bulging out
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here isn't it the stone walls have
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deformed over time originally this
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surface was flat but now it has a bulge
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I don't think that is due to any
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mistaken construction it's probably a
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side effect of the original terrain I
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think that's the most likely cause
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before this castle was constructed there
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would have been channels in the ground
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little dips or valleys groundwater would
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tend to gather in places like that over
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time the water would make the soil here
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softer than in other locations where the
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soil is weak the wall will bulge I think
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that's what happened so in order to
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restore the wall to its original state
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what kind of work has to be done first
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we must confirm the condition of the
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wall that must be assessed accurately
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then each stone will be numbered that
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way the original position of each stone
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can be tracked then the stones will be
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removed one by one every single one yes
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stones that are broken will not be
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reused they will be replaced with new
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ones stones that are still usable
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will be returned to precisely their
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original locations to make the stone
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wall nice and flat again that's what
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they'll do any idea
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how long and how much money is going to
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cost to finish this repair work overall
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the work is expected to take seven to
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eight years and the estimated cost is
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somewhere around two billion yen in fact
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another Japanese castle is currently
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undergoing restoration of its stone
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walls come in a castle in Fukushima in
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the 2011 earthquake its walls collapsed
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in ten places as of 2016
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restoration is ongoing about 7,000
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stones fell in all first each one was
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photographed from various angles the
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photos are compared to photos of the
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wall before the quake to determine where
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each stone was placed based on this data
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a blueprint was made for placing the
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stones back to rebuild the wall
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artisans Rhys tack the designated stones
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carefully adjusting each one's position
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to ensure they fit together properly
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they can only put back five or six
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stones per day on average completion of
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the restoration work is projected for
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2019 at a total cost of about five
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billion yen what other kinds of
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restoration projects are going on in
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Japan every Castle is different when it
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comes to which keeps and watch towers
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and gates are original structures and
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which are reconstructions numerous
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restorations and reconstructions are
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always going on Japan's wooden
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architecture requires maintenance with
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proper upkeep structures can last
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centuries or even a millennium without
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that care they become dilapidated so
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this kind of repair work has been going
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on for centuries in fact with the
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buildings what kind of repair work is
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done himeji castle in he'll go
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prefecture is one of the most famous
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examples today himeji castle looks
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absolutely beautiful that's actually
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thanks to large-scale repairs in the mid
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20th century the huge main keep of the
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castle was entirely disassembled it
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completely took it apart yes before the
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restoration work began they discovered a
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major problem they found that the main
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keep was leaning slightly and further
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investigation showed that the most
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important of its supporting columns was
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damaged so the column itself needed to
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be removed a complete disassembly was
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required and that's what they did when
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they take apart a building and then
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rebuild it do they rebuild it exactly
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the way it was hundreds of years ago
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or do they modernize in some instances
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each structure that is part of a castle
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has its own historical the goal is to
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accurately restore each to its
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Regional Forum it should be returned to
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the way it looked before but Japan is
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subject to major earthquakes and even
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the best architecture of the samurai era
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doesn't measure up to today's seismic
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standards it's a constant challenge so
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beneath the historical structure itself
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a proper anti-seismic foundation is
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usually built during the restoration a
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solid foundation helps to preserve a
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building like himeji castle then it can
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serve as a cultural and historical
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landmark that can be safely visited by
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everyone himeji castle a designated
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national treasure and a unesco world
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heritage site built 400 years ago the so
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called White Heron castle reopened in
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2015 after its first major repairs in 50
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years
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[Music]
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the castles trademark pristine white
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appearance comes from traditionally
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plastered walls the plaster is a mixture
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of lime seaweed and other natural
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ingredients it has a creamy consistency
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a major goal of the recent restoration
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was cleaning up the damaged exterior
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decades of weathering had caused the
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plaster to flake off from many of the
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castles walls
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in 2009 the keep was enclosed in
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scaffolding for repairs it was a huge
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project that cost 2.4 billion yen first
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came an exhaustive inspection of the
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keeps walls damage to the plaster was
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assessed by tapping it and listening to
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the sound damaged plaster was then
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stripped off
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underneath deep decay was found in the
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thick walls of the keeps top floor this
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affected even the wooden supporting
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lattices so the walls of the top floor
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were removed entirely including the
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lattices and rebuilt first though came a
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tough hurdle the original lattices were
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made of slender straight saplings of
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hard durable woods like oak and cherry
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materials no longer easy to obtain it
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took three months to gather enough
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saplings 700 were brought to him aji
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castle and used to build new supporting
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lattices for the keeps top floor over
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each lattice claim mixed with straw was
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added
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then finally it was time to plaster six
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coats were applied from the start of
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construction it took six years to
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complete the rebuilding of the top floor
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warns this large-scale repair also
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included reroofing the entire keep with
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its roughly 75,000 roof tiles every
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single tile was removed and inspected
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once found to be damaged were replaced
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[Music]
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then the tiles too were freshly
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plastered over the plaster holds them in
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place preventing them from blowing away
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in high winds
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this massive project required five years
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and 15,000 man days to complete hi I'm
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Matt Alt I've always loved building
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Japanese model kits Matt drops inna to
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tokyo-based maker of plastic models of
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course today he's come to see their
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castle models ah this must be the
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display room yes look at all these
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really cool little airplanes and ships
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and stuff and here are the castles hello
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there
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these castles are so cool how many
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varieties of these do you sell about 50
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different models
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is there a large demand for plastic
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models of castles in Japan yes they are
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popular with all ages from small
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children to the elderly
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they say that anyone who's ever built
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models has put together a castle at some
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point Matt is going to build a model of
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a huge castle
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here's the himeji castle kit let's take
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off the lid see what we have inside
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instructions can't forget those and
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these are the sprues that the parts come
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on this looks like the roof and here we
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have the base the stone fortifications
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that support the castle the kit even
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comes with this green powder that
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simulates grass and this green foam used
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to simulate shrubs and trees so here we
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go first comes the painting grassy areas
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must not only be painted green but also
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sprinkled with this powder made from
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sawdust to give texture that
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the wall part is painted gray to make it
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look like stone
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[Music]
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next up I'm going to paint the roof now
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one of the things about himeji castle is
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it has a really distinctive white roof
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this plastic model however is molded in
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gray so you have to kind of add the
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color yourself yeah now it's time to
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detach the parts and assemble them oh
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yes yes yes yes if I do say so myself
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and there you have it the central keep
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of the castle labor that three hours
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later
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check it out Himeji Castle in miniature
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nice work Matt
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[Music]
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in April 2016 amid a series of major
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earthquakes Kumamoto castle was severely
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damaged the kief lost its roof tiles
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portions of the stone walls collapsed
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valuable structures were wrecked
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[Music]
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one Watchtower was left in a very
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precarious condition along with 13
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important cultural properties the walls
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were damaged in 53 places repairs are
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expected to cost over 30 billion yen
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Kumamoto castle has faced the threat of
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destruction many times in its 400 year
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history in the 1870s a mystery fire
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burned down the keep and other
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structures in 1889 an earthquake
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collapsed its stone walls and damaged
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many watchtowers and other buildings the
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castle was not repaired but left to fall
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into ruin the keep was not rebuilt until
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83 years after it burned down the castle
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had been the symbol of Kumamoto for four
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centuries many local people wanted to
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see it restored and they donated funds
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to the project
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in 1960 their wishes were realized when
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reconstruction was completed ever since
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the castle has remained the pride of
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Kumamoto but in the recent disaster the
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lighting of the castle was damaged it
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used to look beautiful at night the city
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was robbed of that popular and local
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scene the city government received a
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flood of requests asking for the castle
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to be lit up again even though the
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castle is damaged we have received many
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requests to restore the lighting our
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citizens are eager for Kumamoto castle
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to be lit up again they wanted to serve
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as a shining beacon a symbol of hope for
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the future of this community after being
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forced from their homes by the disaster
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the many local people living in
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temporary housing finally had something
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to smile about 45 days after the quake
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[Music]
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soon thereafter work on clearing the
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stones from the collapse balls began in
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earnest as Kumamoto began its long
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journey to recovery
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[Music]
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when we first met two years ago we went
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to see Kumamoto castle since then
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there's a Miss April there were those
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terrible earthquakes and the castle
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sustained really terrible damage I
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presume you've been there since then yes
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I did go and I was shocked at how bad
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the damage was
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do you think it'll be possible to get
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something at least close to what it was
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it will be a huge undertaking I do
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believe it's possible but until the
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stone walls are rebuilt in a way that is
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stable and secure the watch towers and
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gates and other buildings that stand on
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top of them cannot be restored and I
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think it will take a very long time to
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repair the walls I think it may take
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even as long as 20 years but there is
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another aspect to this repairs to the
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stone walls are required on a vast scale
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what that means is that many stonemasons
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will have a fresh chance to hone their
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skills as they work on repairs to
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Kumamoto Castle and that's not all it
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will be an opportunity for the next
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generation to learn those techniques and
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then they will be able to repair other
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castle walls around Japan that's what I
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hope so you're gonna get a whole new
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generation of craftsmen and of course
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nobody wants these terrible earthquakes
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to happen but as a result of all the
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damage if these specialized skills get
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passed down to a new generation then
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perhaps it wasn't all for nothing or at
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least one would like to hope so actually
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the stone walls of Kumamoto Castle are
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considered by many to be the finest in
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all of Japan that's how important they
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are
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today's stonemasons will be working on
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these four hundred year old masterpieces
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of stone wall construction they'll be
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doing this work with their own hands I
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think that restoring the walls to how
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they should be is a wonderful challenge
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let's wish him all the best of luck
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thank you very much thank you
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[Music]
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next time volcanoes or inspiring and
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destructive volcanoes are found all over
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Japan how half the Japanese come to
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terms with this force of nature
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