Akitsushima. The Island of Dragonflies

Japanese armour, helmets and sword fittings from the private collection of Wiktoria and Adam Jurgilewicz are on show in the Manggha Museum’s main building until 11 November 2026. All of them were chosen for a single motif: the dragonfly. The same ticket covers “Warrior Women” next door, so plan both for one visit.

The Manggha Museum on the exhibition:

Dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata) are some of the oldest insects in evolutionary terms, with about 6,400 species classified to date, of which 74 can be found in Poland. These predatory creatures have always triggered extreme reactions: delight, due to their extraordinary colour-changing wings and admiration for their unique flying skills and hunting prowess, but also anxiety, and sometimes even groundless fear. Their perceptions have been diverse in different cultures across the world. The dragonfly (tonbo) motif occupies a special place in Japanese culture and art as it combines natural order with warrior symbolism and the sophisticated aesthetics of utilitarian objects, while its significance goes back to the nation’s ancient writing traditions. The Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters recorded the earliest known name of Japan - Akitsushima, or “the Island of Dragonflies”.

Flora and fauna motifs embellish military artefacts, notably sword guards (tsuba), hilt caps, helmets and armour, as nature permeates every aspect of the Japanese people’s life, including that of the samurai myth. Consequently, the dragonfly is part of Japanese iconography, forming a fascinating link between the world of nature and the rigorous ethos of the samurai class. In the Japanese warrior culture, the dragonfly was referred to as kachimushi, or “victory insect”. This interpretation stemmed from a singular entomological observation: a dragonfly never moves back when flying, which makes it a perfect metaphor for relentlessness, determination, and valour in battle. That quality was the reason why the dragonfly motif was applied on weapons, helmets, armour components, sword mountings, horse tack, and small objects of personal use.

What to expect

The core of the show is military: complete suits of armour, helmets, sword fittings and a warrior’s kit. According to a Polish Radio Trójka report, every suit on display carries a dragonfly, so after a few cases you will be hunting for it yourself - on a helmet, a shoulder guard, a quiver. Japanese woodblock prints and paintings hang alongside the armour, and a separate section holds European natural-history engravings. The museum publishes no count of objects or rooms.

What rewards a closer look:

• Kabuto helmets - the most important part of a suit, according to the collector Adam Jurgilewicz speaking to Trójka. The helmet singled a warrior out on the battlefield because it sat highest in the line of sight, and it often made up two thirds of the value of the whole suit.
• Ō-yoroi and gusoku armour - two answers to the same problem: the early, heavy ō-yoroi was built for a mounted warrior and designed to stop arrows; the later gusoku was adapted for fighting on foot.
• A gold-coloured suit near the end of the display - ordinary samurai were not allowed to wear gold, so according to the collector it most likely belonged to a high-ranking samurai or a general. Its helmet is crowned with a maedate, a front crest, in the shape of a dragonfly.
• Kachō-ga and musha-e woodblock prints - flowers, dragonflies and butterflies on one side, charged images of warriors on the other. Together they show how the same insect found its way into prints and onto weapons.
• European natural-history engravings by Maria Sibylla Merian, Albertus Seba, John Jonston and Moses Harris - the first time Manggha has set this Japanese subject against Western imagery. The museum’s English text notes that across much of Europe the dragonfly was seen as a sinister creature, so the contrast with the “victory insect” is deliberate.

The armour comes from the Jurgilewicz collection; the other works from the Krajewski-Siuda Library, the Manggha Museum’s own holdings and private collections. Contemporary Polish artists Katarzyna Makieła-Organisty, Kaja Mucha, Kinga Nowak and Marcin Janusz made new work for the show. A publication on the dragonfly motif in Japanese art and in early modern European prints and ceramics accompanies the show; the museum does not list its price.

Anna Król designed the display and Michał Kuźniak (Nihil) directed the sound, so this is not a show you walk through in silence. If you prefer silence, come during one of the museum’s “quiet hours”, when the sound in the temporary exhibitions is switched off (date under Events).

Context

Akitsushima is one of the country’s classical names, alongside Akitsukuni and Toyo-akitsushima. According to Wikipedia, akitu and akidu are archaic or dialectal Japanese words for dragonfly, so the name may be read as “Dragonfly Island”. The museum links the name to the shape of the islands; another legend has the mythical founder Emperor Jimmu bitten by a mosquito that a dragonfly then ate. The insect is not decoration here: the museum reads it as the country’s old name for itself.

In Japan the dragonfly stands for rebirth, courage, strength and good fortune, and as a seasonal symbol it belongs to autumn. It has recurred for centuries in painting and in haiku, Matsuo Bashō among its poets. Warrior culture gave it a name of its own - kachimushi, the “victory insect” - on the strength of one observation: a dragonfly never flies backwards.

The collection has its own story. On the museum’s website Adam Jurgilewicz writes that he first met the samurai as a boy in Akira Kurosawa’s films. He and his wife bought their first suit of armour in a small antique shop on the Izu Peninsula, and the owner gave them an iron maedate shaped like a dragonfly. In the same text the collector writes that the dragonfly motif became the backbone of the collection.

Speaking to Trójka, he added that the first suit is dated 1848 inside and bears the crest of the Toda clan; the museum does not say whether it is on display.

Tickets and time

There is no separate ticket for this show. One Manggha ticket admits you to all current exhibitions, so you see both “The Island of Dragonflies” and “Warrior Women: Japanese Herstories” for a single price.

Regular admission is 30 PLN, reduced 20 PLN. Reduced tickets cover, among others, school and university students, doctoral students, over-65s, pensioners and teachers. A family ticket is 50 PLN (up to four people, at least one of them a child under 18), and a group ticket for up to 20 people is 120 PLN. Children under 7 go free.

Admission is free on Tuesdays, and the free day covers all temporary exhibitions, this one included. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-18:00 (10 AM-6 PM) and is closed on Mondays; last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Two dates to note: the museum is closed on Sunday 1 November, and on Wednesday 11 November, the show’s last day and a public holiday in Poland, it is open 10:00-18:00.

Online tickets for each month go on sale in the last week of the month before, so if you book far ahead your date may simply not be released yet. Guided tours must be booked at least 10 days in advance.

Allow 90 minutes for both exhibitions. For “The Island of Dragonflies” alone, 45 minutes is enough if you are looking rather than reading, 60 minutes if you read the labels. You should read them at the armour, because without them the difference between ō-yoroi and gusoku stays a difference in the shape of the shoulder guards.

The show is best for anyone drawn to craftsmanship, arms and armour, or Japanese iconography. If weapons leave you cold and you came for Japanese prints, start with “Warrior Women”, which is built around ukiyo-e woodblocks.

Getting there: the museum stands on the Vistula bank opposite Wawel, about 10 minutes on foot from the castle across the Grunwaldzki Bridge; the nearest tram and bus stops are called Rondo Grunwaldzkie.

English on site: the museum publishes the exhibition text in English on its website but does not say whether the wall labels are bilingual. The curator-led tours listed below are announced on Polish-language pages only, with no mention of English.

Events

• 26 Sep 2026, 12:00 and 14:00 - curator-led tour with Dr Anna Król and the collector and co-curator Adam Jurgilewicz; no booking, first come first served, limit 25 people, meet at the reception in the main hall a few minutes before the start, included in the exhibition ticket - details (Polish-language page)
• 27 Sep 2026, 12:00 and 14:00 - the same tour with the curator and the collector, on the same terms - details (Polish-language page)
• 14 Oct 2026, 16:00-18:00 - “quiet hours” at the museum: the sound in the temporary exhibitions is switched off, visits are individual only, and noise-cancelling headphones can be borrowed at the main-building reception (limited number) - details (Polish-language page)

With a 25-person limit and no booking, arrive at least 15 minutes before your chosen start.

What the press says

Polskie Radio Trójka (24 Aug 2026, Piotr Radecki; interview by Agnieszka Obszańska for the programme “Terra Kultura”): a report from the galleries. Its main takeaway is the hierarchy inside a suit of armour, with the kabuto helmet as the costliest part. The dragonfly recurs on shoulder guards, quivers, stirrups and saddles - link (Polish-language source).

Polskie Radio Trójka (14 Aug 2026, Piotr Radecki; “Terra Kultura”): the collector tells how his collection began. It started with a plain battle suit from the late Edo period, found at the back of a shop on the Izu Peninsula - link (Polish-language source).

dzieje.pl / PAP (17 Jul 2026, PAP): a wire preview published the day before the opening, covering both shows together. It stresses that the warrior’s kit is presented not only as militaria but also as works of art - link (Polish-language source).

Three pieces so far, all reporting rather than criticism: one agency preview and two radio interviews with the collector. No critical review has appeared in the cultural press. The co-curator Adam Jurgilewicz told Trójka (24 Aug 2026): “The most important element of every suit of armour is the helmet, the kabuto” (our translation).

Updates

• 23 Sep 2026 - the museum announced curator-led tours with the collector Adam Jurgilewicz on 26 and 27 September (source: the museum’s events calendar ); exhibition dates, prices and the free day checked against the museum’s own pages, unchanged.
• 13 Sep 2026 - dates, prices and the free day checked against the museum’s own pages: unchanged (19 Jul 2026 - 11 Nov 2026, 30/20 PLN, free Tuesdays covering all temporary exhibitions). Context, key objects, visiting practicalities and press coverage added.

See also

• Warrior Women: Japanese Herstories - same building, same dates, same ticket; onna bugeisha in ukiyo-e woodblock prints, the other half of the story about the Japanese warrior ethos.
• Tokyo Story - in the Europe - Far East Gallery, the annex to Manggha’s main building, until 25 October: present-day Tokyo seen by the duo Studio 2 in drawing, 3D prints, installation and film. A good counterpoint after the old armour.
• Now Everything Will Be Different - in the same gallery until 25 October: Karolina Breguła’s videos and photographs from Taiwan, about demolitions and losing one’s home. For anyone who wants to move from old Japan to contemporary Asia.
• Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology - the museum profile: Arata Isozaki’s building, the Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński collection, hours and how to get there.

Tickets, opening hours, and current details are on the Manggha Museum website .

Museum profile: Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology .