Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
Historical forms are not available yet. The current form is shown as a reference.
The kanji "巻" originates from a Chinese pictographic character depicting a kneeling figure with a bent, coiled body. This early form visually represented the concept of curling or rolling up. Over time, the character evolved significantly; in its seal script form, it more clearly showed a person (巳) kneeling under a bending object, further emphasizing the idea of curvature and coiling. The modern Japanese form is a simplification of this, but retains the core structural components. The character is classified as a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The lower component, derived from the pictograph of a kneeling person (巳), provides the core meaning of "to bend" or "to curl." The upper component (㔾) is a simplification of an element that originally resembled two hands and functions primarily as a phonetic indicator, suggesting the pronunciation in Old Chinese. This combination of meaning and sound created the character for "to roll up," which was then extended to mean the object that is rolled—the "scroll." "巻" was transmitted to Japan, along with the broader Chinese writing system, most likely between the 4th and 5th centuries CE via cultural exchanges, Buddhist texts, and official missions to the Chinese court. It was adopted into the Japanese language as a kanji, carrying its core meanings. An important linguistic note is its dual Japanese readings: the Sino-Japanese *on'yomi* "KEN" (as in 巻末, *kenmatsu*) and the native Japanese *kun'yomi* "maku" (to roll) and "maki" (a roll or scroll). This character also serves as a radical (部首) itself, seen in related characters like "券" (ticket) and "倦" (to tire of), where it often contributes the associated meaning of bending or curling.