# Dragonfly

蜻蛉 tonbo

![Dragonfly](https://www.furoshiki.com/motifs/tonbo.svg)

Called the "victory insect" because it only flies forward and never retreats, so it was a favourite of samurai and stands for courage and success.

Ancient: on Yayoi-period bronze bells; Akitsushima ('dragonfly island') legend in the early chronicles

Dragonflies appear on Yayoi-period bronze bells, probably as spirits of the grain because they eat pests in the rice fields. An old name for Japan, Akitsushima, is linked to a legend that Emperor Yūryaku named the land after a dragonfly that ate a horsefly biting him. Because it seems to fly only forward, it was called kachimushi, the 'victory insect', and was used by warriors on helmets and armour.

A late-summer and autumn motif, common on yukata; red dragonflies are associated with Obon.

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Source: https://www.furoshiki.com/motifs/tonbo/