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The character 肥 evolved from ancient pictographs depicting a person with abundant flesh or meat (月, the 'meat' radical) beside them, representing plumpness or fertility. In Liushutong, L30359 shows an early form where the right component resembles a kneeling figure with emphasized thighs, while the left is the meat radical. Over time, it standardized to its modern form 肥, combining 月 (meat) and 巴 (a phonetic component that also suggests curvature or fullness). The character's core meaning has consistently related to 'fat,' 'fertile,' or 'rich,' reflecting both physical plumpness and agricultural richness. Arrived in Japan: The character 肥 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, when the Japanese writing system was being developed through cultural exchange with China. It appears in early Japanese texts like the Man'yōshū (8th century) and is used in place names like Kumamoto Prefecture's historic Higo Province (肥後国), indicating its adoption into the Japanese kanji system during the Asuka or Nara periods.