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The character 末 originally depicted a tree (木) with an extra stroke at the top, indicating the 'tip' or 'end' of the branches. This pictorial representation evolved from oracle bone script to bronze script, then to seal script, before standardizing into its modern form. The core meaning has always been 'end', 'tip', or 'last', representing the farthest point from the root. It stands in contrast to 本 (origin/root), creating an important conceptual pair in Chinese philosophy. Arrived in Japan: The character 末 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (approximately 300 BCE - 300 CE) through cultural exchange with China, likely transmitted via Korean peninsula. It was systematically introduced along with other Chinese characters during the 5th-6th centuries CE when Japanese scholars began studying Chinese texts, and was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as a kanji character with the same meaning and similar pronunciation.