Agehachō Cushion

The design of this crest is based on "the diagram of the Swallowtail butterfly crest and the training text" found in "Kyoto Crest Uwagaki-shi" in "The Great Compendium of Japanese Crests" (created on March 28, 2013). The term "swallowtail butterfly" (agehachō) refers to a butterfly that has its wings raised, as opposed to "resting butterfly" (gachō), which has its wings folded horizontally. The "swallowtail butterfly" that appears in family crests is not typically the same as the Asian swallowtail butterfly. It was surprising to learn that the swallowtail butterfly in design is different from the Asian swallowtail butterfly in biology. (From "Exploring Family Crests" by Keiichi Morimoto)