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 character "掲" is a phono-semantic compound, formed by combining the radical 扌(hand) with the phonetic component 曷. The radical 扌 indicates the character's meaning is related to a hand action, while 曷 provides both phonetic value ("katsu"/"kei") and contributes to its meaning of "lifting" or "raising up." Etymologically, "掲" originates from the Chinese clerical script of the Han Dynasty. Its predecessor, the small seal script character, was more pictographically complex, depicting a hand lifting an object. The core meaning has always been "to hoist," "to raise aloft," or "to hold up." The evolution from ancient forms to the modern 掲 demonstrates a process of structural simplification and standardization, solidifying its form by the time of the Kaishu (regular script). The kanji was introduced to Japan in waves, primarily from the 5th to 8th centuries AD, via Buddhist scriptures, Confucian classics, and other written materials imported from China. It was systematically adopted into the Japanese writing system, retaining its core meaning. The Japanese pronunciation is a mixture of the Sino-Japanese *on'yomi* reading "KEI," derived from the Chinese phonetic approximation of the time, and the native Japanese *kun'yomi* "kaka.geru," which was assigned to the character based on its meaning. A key linguistic note is the conceptual link between the physical action of "lifting" and the abstract idea of "displaying" or "publishing." To display something, such as a notice, was to physically lift it into public view. This semantic extension from a concrete physical action to an abstract communicative one is central to its modern usage in words like 掲示 (keiji, bulletin/notice) and 掲載 (keisai, publication in a periodical).