army, travel

旅 is composed of a variant of 㫃 (fluttering flags) and a variant of 从 (follow). 㫃 depicts the appearance of banners and flags fluttering on a pole and indicates assembly or gathering, while 从 means to follow. Therefore, 旅 conveys the idea of soldiers following a banner as they advance. Its original meaning is an army. When an army goes to fight in a distant place, the soldiers must leave home for a period of time. From this, 旅 also came to mean traveling far from home.