[1] DeHa 101 was built in February 1939 by Nippon Tetsudō Jidōsha Kōgyō (日本鉄道自動車工業) (present-day Toyokouki) as "BoDeHa 101" (with "Bo" designating it as a bogie car) with a wood and steel body mounted on Amemiya plate-frame bogies donated from former Shimotsuke Electric Railway (下野電気鉄道) 1926-vintage 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge DeHa 103 which previously operated on what is now the Tōbu Kinugawa Line and was withdrawn in July 1932.

[1][2] On 9 May 1939, shortly after BoDeHa 101 entered service, Princess Shigeko (daughter of Emperor Hirohito) rode on the train from Chōshi to Tōdaimae (present-day Inuboh Station) and back on a Gakushūin school outing.

[1] BoDeHa 101 was renumbered DeHa 101 from 29 May 1950, and in December 1952, it was rebuilt by Nippon Tetsudō Jidōsha Kōgyō with a new steel and wood-frame body with air-operated sliding doors.

[1] In 1985, DeHa 101 was used extensively in filming for the NHK TV drama series Miotsukushi (澪つくし), which was shot on the Choshi Electric Railway.

[1] In later years, the car was used as a storeroom at Kasagami-Kurohae Station, and was officially withdrawn on 31 March 1999.