Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 海 (hǎi) meaning 'sea' or 'ocean' has an interesting evolution. In its earliest oracle bone script forms, it depicted a woman (母 or 女) beside water (水 or 氵), possibly representing the concept of 'mother waters' or the vast, generative nature of the sea. Over time, the character evolved through bronze script and seal script periods, eventually standardizing with the water radical (氵) on the left and the component 每 on the right. The 每 component itself originally depicted a woman with a hair ornament, suggesting beauty and abundance. Thus, 海 came to represent the vast, abundant waters that were both mysterious and life-giving to ancient Chinese civilization. Arrived in Japan: The character 海 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system (kanji) through Buddhist scriptures, Confucian classics, and other cultural exchanges. It was formally incorporated into the Japanese writing system and appears in the earliest Japanese texts such as the Kojiki (712 CE) and Manyoshu (8th century), where it was read as 'umi' in native Japanese reading.