Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 橋 (bridge) evolved from ancient pictographs showing a structure spanning water or a gap. Its Liushutong form L32238 displays the characteristic wooden arch structure with railings, combining the 'wood' radical (木) with a phonetic component. Originally depicting simple log bridges, the character came to represent any crossing structure and metaphorically concepts of connection and transition in Chinese philosophy. Arrived in Japan: The character 橋 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) through cultural exchange with China, but became systematically established during the 5th-6th centuries CE when the Japanese court adopted Chinese writing systems and Buddhist texts, which frequently used the character metaphorically for crossing from suffering to enlightenment.