Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 茂 (mào) originally depicted lush, abundant plant growth. Its earliest forms in oracle bone and bronze scripts showed plants (艸) growing vigorously. The character evolved through various script styles - seal script, clerical script, and finally the modern standard form. The component 戊 (wù), originally representing an axe or weapon, may have served as a phonetic component while also conveying the sense of 'flourishing' or 'vigorous growth.' Over centuries, 茂 came to mean 'luxuriant,' 'profuse,' 'dense,' or 'flourishing,' describing both vegetation and metaphorical growth like talent or prosperity. Arrived in Japan: The character 茂 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) or early Kofun period (300-538 CE) through cultural exchange with China and Korea, likely as part of the introduction of Chinese writing systems. It was formally incorporated into Japanese writing during the systematic adoption of Chinese characters in the 5th-6th centuries CE, and appears in early Japanese texts like the Man'yōshū poetry anthology (8th century).