Origin

This character is a picture of a shell or shellfish as viewed from above. The top part, which looks like an eye or opening, represents the shell's opening, while the bottom part suggests the shell's curved or split form. Over time, the shape became more stylized and squared off, but it still shows these two key visual features of a shell. Because shells and shellfish were valuable items used in trade in ancient times, this character eventually came to also mean "money" or "precious thing" in some contexts.