Honmaru Goten's Mysterious Horse

On Sunday I passed by Kawagoe's Honmaru Goten and was both surprised and delighted to see a horse statue outside the building. It looked perfectly at home against the beautiful exterior of one of only two remaining original castle palace buildings in Japan.

For a moment, it was easy to imagine a samurai arriving on horseback, dismounting before entering the residence. Whether intentional or not, the statue adds a touch of life to the historic setting and serves as a fitting reminder of the castle's feudal past.

But here's the mystery: I can't find any information about this statue anywhere online. Not on Kawagoe websites, not on tourism guides, and not on the blogs of people who seem to have documented every corner of the city. Nothing. Zero. So I have no idea whether this horse is a temporary visitor or a permanent resident.

Either way, I was delighted to find it, especially in the Year of the Horse. Mystery aside, it certainly looked as though it belonged there.