Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 折 originates from ancient oracle bone script, depicting a hand (扌) using an axe to break a tree (斤), symbolizing the act of breaking or snapping. Over centuries, its form evolved through bronze script and seal script into the modern kanji 折. Its core meaning of 'to break' or 'to fold' expanded to include concepts of discount, yield, and judgment, reflecting its fundamental action in both physical and abstract contexts. Arrived in Japan: The character 折 was likely introduced to Japan during the early cultural exchanges with China, around the 5th to 6th centuries CE, when Chinese writing and Buddhism were systematically imported, possibly through Korean Peninsula intermediaries or direct missions to the Chinese court.