Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 井 originally depicted a wooden well frame or the cross pattern of a well's structure. In ancient China, it represented a water well, evolving to symbolize orderly communities as ancient Chinese fields were divided into a well-shaped pattern (井田制). The character maintained its basic cross-in-square structure throughout its evolution from oracle bone script to modern kanji, representing both practical water sources and organized social systems. Arrived in Japan: The character 井 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (approximately 300 BCE - 300 CE) through cultural exchange with China and Korea, becoming established as part of the Japanese writing system with the broader introduction of Chinese characters. It appears in early Japanese texts like the Man'yōshū (8th century) and is used in surnames and place names such as 井上 (Inoue, meaning 'above the well').