There are many exhibits about military horses. The horse manes and similar items have faded quite a lot, which is unfortunate. The space in front of the museum is small, so I think it's better to park at the town hall or somewhere similar.

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A free museum where you can learn about Honbetsu's history. The exhibits clearly explain everything from the Jomon period to the settlement of Wajin people. Honbetsu also had an Imperial Japanese Army military horse replenishment unit, where Baron Nishi (Colonel Nishi Takeichi, killed in action on Iwo Jima) served from Showa 14 through August of Showa 15. Materials about the Honbetsu air raid of July 15, 1945 are also displayed.

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Honbetsu once had a facility that procured and raised military horses for the former army. The horses loaded into freight cars here and sent to the battlefields are said to number in the thousands. Nishi Takeichi, known as Baron Nishi, who won the grand jumping event with Uranus at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, also served here as an army officer. Because of that connection, personal effects provided by his family are on display.

Honbetsu, close to Japan's eastern edge. Surely even the old Suiyo Dodesho would hardly come here unless they drew its country sign. Perhaps reflecting a willingness to use anything for revitalizing the town, a Nishi Takeichi section appears immediately upon entering. Online information said it had the largest number of items donated by the family, so I visited with high expectations. Displayed as personal effects were a ten-yen banknote, a Tsurugaoka Hachimangu amulet, grains of sand (Iwo Jima sand?), and Uranus's mane. However, the explanatory panel says these personal effects were donated by his eldest son, Nishi Yasunori, with the explanation, “I did not see the effects being recovered and cannot be certain they are authentic, so I am donating them”… Huh, so they might be fake? They were rather ambiguous items that raised that question. Circumstantially they seem genuine, but is it appropriate to display them as authentic without clarifying that point… Because, and this is very important, 4 people are said to have seen Nishi Takeichi's remains. They are Omagari Satoru, Ozawa Isamu, Yamazaki Akira, and an unidentified American. Of these, according to his eldest son Yasunori, Yamazaki visited the Nishi family, while according to his wife Takeko, it was Yamazaki and the unidentified American. And Ozawa testified that he buried Nishi's body by the sea. Even more importantly, Ozawa clearly testified, “The whip was nowhere to be found at the burial. I thought it strange because the lieutenant colonel would never have let go of that whip.” Also, the author of this explanation appears to be Ono Kaoru, who wrote Olympus no Shito. When Ono spoke directly to the three men mentioned above, Yamazaki admitted that the widely circulated account of Nishi's final moments was his own invention, while Omagari reportedly refused to discuss the details. Based on these testimonies, Yasunori's doubt expressed as “because I did not see them being recovered” is justified.

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Admission was free. The “7・15 Never Forget Project” related to the Honbetsu air raid and the “Fallen Military Horses Heritage Corner”, among others, caught my eye. The 2nd floor has permanent exhibits of stone tools, farming equipment, everyday items, and more. It was unfortunate that some of the panel displays could not be viewed.

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