Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 依 evolved from ancient pictographs depicting a person (人 or 亻) wrapped in or relying upon clothing (衣), symbolizing dependence and reliance. In the Liushutong, L02014 shows an early form with the radical 人 clearly integrated with 衣, representing the core meaning 'to depend on' or 'to comply with.' Over time, the structure simplified into the modern kanji 依, retaining its semantic essence of trust and attachment, as seen in words like 依存 (dependence) and 依頼 (request). Arrived in Japan: The character 依 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th to 6th centuries CE, when Chinese writing systems were introduced through cultural exchanges, such as the importation of Confucian texts and Buddhism via Korean Peninsula. It became part of the Japanese kanji lexicon, used in both official documents and literary works.