Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 頁 originally depicted a person with a large, emphasized head, representing the concept of 'head' itself. In ancient oracle bone script, it clearly showed a kneeling human figure with an exaggerated head. Over time, the character evolved through bronze script and seal script into its modern form. While it retains the meaning of 'head' or 'page' (as in the head of a document), it's most commonly used as a radical in characters related to the head, such as 頭 (head), 顔 (face), and 頂 (summit/top). Arrived in Japan: The character 頁 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems to Japan. It came through cultural exchange with China, primarily via Korean peninsula intermediaries, and was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as part of the kanji characters adopted during this period.