Gaze up at the Red Dragon Fly (2) B

Gaze up at the Red Dragon Fly (2) B captures the moment a figure, likely one of Nishida's characteristic cats, looks upward at a red dragonfly hovering overhead. The dragonfly, known as akatombo in Japanese, is a potent autumn symbol associated with nostalgia and the passing of seasons. In samurai culture, dragonflies were called kachimushi, victory insects, because they only fly forward and never retreat. Nishida brings these cultural associations into a composition that is simultaneously whimsical and symbolically rich. The upward gaze creates a strong vertical dynamic, pulling the viewer's eye from the earthbound observer to the airborne insect. The B variant and the number 2 in parentheses suggest this is one of several versions Nishida produced, each exploring different color relationships between observer, insect, and sky.