Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 原 evolved from ancient pictographs showing water flowing from a spring at the base of a cliff. In its earliest forms, it depicted a stream emerging from rocks (厂 representing the cliff and 泉 representing the spring). Over time, it came to mean 'source' or 'origin,' and later expanded to mean 'plain' or 'field' (as in 平原 - plain/field) and 'original' (as in 原因 - cause/origin). The character embodies the concept of beginnings - from the source of water to the origin of things. Arrived in Japan: The character 原 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, either directly from China or via the Korean peninsula. It was formally incorporated into the Japanese writing system during the Asuka and Nara periods (6th-8th centuries) as part of the mass importation of Chinese culture and bureaucracy.