Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 麻 originally depicted hemp plants hanging in a shed or against a wall. In its ancient Liushutong forms, it showed plants with hanging fibers or seeds. The character evolved from this pictorial representation to its current form, which combines 广 (shelter) with 林 (forest), symbolizing hemp plants processed under a roof. Historically, 麻 referred to hemp and flax plants used for fiber to make cloth, rope, and paper. It later extended to mean 'numb' (from hemp's anesthetic properties) and 'rough' or 'pitted' (describing textures resembling hemp cloth). Arrived in Japan: The character 麻 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, possibly through Buddhist texts and cultural exchange during the Asuka period. It appears in early Japanese documents like the Man'yōshū (8th century) and was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as a kanji with readings 'ma' and 'asa'.