Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 伊 evolved from ancient pictographs showing a person (亻) with a tool or implement. In Liushutong, L01993 shows an early form where the right component resembles a hand holding a tool or weapon. Originally meaning 'this' or 'that,' it later became associated with the ancient region of Yiyang in China. The character gained its modern meaning as a reference to things Italian or foreign (from 'Italy') and is used in Japanese names and the term 伊達 (date) meaning 'showy' or 'stylish.' Arrived in Japan: The character 伊 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE-300 CE) or early Kofun period (300-538 CE) through cultural exchange with China, likely via Korean peninsula. It appears in early Japanese texts like the 8th-century Man'yōshū poetry anthology and was used in place names and aristocratic titles during the Nara period (710-794).