Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 兼 originally depicted a hand (又) holding two stalks of rice (秝), representing the concept of 'simultaneously' or 'holding both.' It evolved to mean 'to combine,' 'to double,' or 'concurrently.' Over time, the pictographic elements became more stylized into the modern form 兼, but still carries the core meaning of uniting multiple things together. Arrived in Japan: The character 兼 arrived in Japan during the early cultural exchanges with China, likely between the 5th-7th centuries CE, when the Japanese writing system was developing and Chinese characters (kanji) were being adopted along with Buddhism and other aspects of Chinese culture.