Pray for the Preying Mantis

Most western cultures associate the mantis with women power. In nature, the female mantis has been noted to eat the male mantis if he hangs around after copulation. While in practical terms that also insures the circle of life by providing nutrients for the next generation, the western man has become scared of this concept. Ironically in human behavior the exact opposite is true, running away after copulating will result in the male head being chewed off by the female species, so it is best to stick around. 

In western culture, the crescent moon is a feminine symbol, however the Japanese usually use it as a masculine symbol. The mantis under the crescent moon in European cultures would represent a female’s menstruation (I didn’t make that up). In doing research for this article, I did discover that in the 1920’s European symbolism had crept into the Japanese culture and female “sanitary pads” were advertised with crescent moons depicted on the women’s kimono. However, this symbolism had not reached Japanese society when the following tsuba was done. In actuality, it most likely represents circle of life/immortality (as a crescent moon historically did in Japanese culture).