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The character 盲 (máng) originally depicted an eye (目) with a cover or obstruction, symbolizing blindness or lack of sight. In ancient oracle bone and bronze scripts, it showed an eye with a line or mark indicating something covering or damaging vision. The character evolved through seal script to its current form, maintaining the 'eye' radical (目) under the 'death' radical (亡), which here phonetically represents 'wang' but also carries connotations of 'lost' or 'deceased'—thus together meaning 'lost sight' or 'blind.' Beyond physical blindness, it extends metaphorically to ignorance or being 'blind to' something. Arrived in Japan: The character 盲 arrived in Japan by the early centuries CE, likely between the 5th and 6th centuries, as part of the introduction of Chinese writing (kanji) via Buddhist texts and scholarly exchanges. It was incorporated into the Japanese writing system with the readings めくら (mekura) for physical blindness and もう (mō) in compounds like 盲目的 (mōmoku-teki, 'blind' as in uncritical).