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 kanji 駆 is a phono-semantic compound character formed during the clerical script transition in China. Its semantic component is 馬, the radical for "horse." The phonetic component is 区, which originally depicted a container holding hidden or valuable objects, but here primarily serves to suggest the character's ancient pronunciation, which was similar to "ku" or "qu." Historically, 駆 evolved from the character 驅, which features the same "horse" radical but uses 殹 as its phonetic component. The original form, 驅, more vividly illustrated the act of whipping a horse to make it run, with 殹 implying a striking action. Over time, 駆 emerged as a simplified variant, eventually becoming the standard form in Japanese shinjitai (modern script). This character was introduced to Japan in waves, primarily through the importation of Chinese texts like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki around the 5th to 8th centuries, and was systematized under Japan's own writing reforms. Culturally, the kanji encapsulates the concept of rapid, forceful movement, not limited to horses. It is used in words like 駆け付ける (to rush to a scene) and 駆使する (to utilize skillfully, literally "to gallop and direct"), demonstrating an extension from literal galloping to metaphorical mastery or swift action. This reflects how the character's core meaning was adapted and expanded upon within the Japanese language to describe both physical speed and the adept application of effort or resources.