Origin

This character appears to combine a picture of a tortoise's shell with elements suggesting its form. The top component suggests the rounded, domed shape of a shell, while the bottom part represents the body or legs beneath it. Together, these visual elements stack to show a complete tortoise as viewed from above or in profile—a creature recognizable by its distinctive armored shell. Over time, the picture became more abstract and stylized into the modern character, but the basic idea of shell plus body creating the image of a tortoise remained.