Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 都 (dū/dōu) has an interesting evolution. It originally consisted of two components: 者 (zhě, meaning 'person' or 'this') and 邑 (yì, meaning 'city' or 'settlement'). In ancient forms, the right side showed a kneeling figure beside a walled city, representing an administrative capital or metropolitan area. Over time, 者 simplified and 邑 became the阝 radical on the right. The character thus came to mean 'capital city' or 'metropolis,' and by extension 'all' or 'entire' (as in encompassing everything in the capital). Arrived in Japan: The character 都 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, primarily through the introduction of Chinese writing systems via Korean peninsula. It was adopted into Japanese as 'to' (as in Tokyo 東京 - Eastern Capital) and 'miyako' (ancient reading for capital city), becoming an important character in place names and administrative terminology during the Asuka and Nara periods when Japan was establishing its centralized state modeled after Chinese systems.