Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 刃 (rèn) is a pictographic character representing a 'blade' or 'edge.' Its earliest form in oracle bone script depicted a knife (刀) with a distinct mark (丶) on its side to indicate the sharp cutting edge. This clever use of an indicator mark to specify part of an object is a classic example of Chinese character formation. Over time, the shape simplified into the modern form 刃, which still clearly shows the knife (刀) and the point marking the blade. Its core meaning has remained 'blade,' 'edge,' or 'sword,' and it is also used as a verb meaning 'to kill with a blade.' Arrived in Japan: The character 刃 was likely introduced to Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE – 300 CE) or the subsequent Kofun period (300–538 CE), as part of the initial wave of Chinese writing imported via the Korean peninsula. Its adoption into the Japanese language was solidified by the Nara period (710–794), when systematic literary projects like the Manyōshu poetry anthology used Chinese characters (Man'yōgana) to represent the Japanese language.