Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 樹 evolved from ancient pictographs depicting a hand planting a tree. In its Liushutong form (L20522), it shows the radical 木 (tree) combined with 尌 (to stand/plant), representing the act of planting trees or something standing upright like a tree. Over time, it simplified to the modern 樹, maintaining its core meaning of 'tree', 'to plant', or 'to establish'. The character embodies the concept of growth, stability, and cultivation - both literally for trees and metaphorically for establishing institutions or principles. Arrived in Japan: The character 樹 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, possibly through Buddhist scriptures and Confucian texts brought by Korean scholars and Chinese immigrants. It became established in Japanese as 'ki' (tree) and part of compounds like 樹立 (juritsu - establishment) during the Nara period (710-794 CE) when Chinese literary culture was systematically adopted.