JŌYŌ KANJI · Grade 5
cotton
cotton
Readings
Official Jōyō readings in table order
On’yomi 音読み
Kun’yomi 訓読み
Origin and meaning
The original graph combines 系 (joining threads) and 帛 (silk); it meant joining threads into silk and thus continuing without a break.
Written form
No parenthesized form is given in the official Jōyō index for this character.
Compare manuscript and printed examples in the HNG historical glyph archive ↗. Where available, its dated samples document written forms; they do not establish the first use of this character in Japan.
Examples in the official table
- 綿布，綿密，純綿
- 綿，真綿
Official notes
- 木綿（もめん）
When did it enter Japanese?
Chinese characters reached Japan through a long process of contact. Early inscribed objects and sixth-century Japanese names are documented; this is context for the writing system, not a first date for 綿.
綿 appears in the current Jōyō kanji table published on 30 November 2010. This records modern standard status, not the date the character was first used in Japan.
A dated first Japanese use for 綿 has not been verified in the sources attached to this entry.
Agency for Cultural Affairs: writing history ↗ · 2010 Jōyō notice ↗