Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 穴 (xué/què) originally depicted a cave or hole in the ground. In its earliest oracle bone script forms, it showed two openings or cavities side by side under a roof structure, representing a dwelling or cave. Over time, it evolved through bronze script and seal script periods, simplifying to its current form with the 宀 (roof) radical over 八 (eight), though the 'eight' component is likely a stylized representation of the original cavity openings. The character fundamentally means 'cave,' 'hole,' or 'cavity,' and by extension came to represent acupuncture points in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as various metaphorical openings or voids. Arrived in Japan: The character 穴 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) or early Kofun period (300-538 CE) through cultural exchange with China and the Korean peninsula, likely as part of the introduction of Chinese writing systems. It was formally adopted into the Japanese writing system during the systematic importation of Chinese characters in the 5th-6th centuries CE, particularly through Buddhist texts and diplomatic documents.