Kanji is the name given to the Han symbols the Japanese language borrows from the Chinese language. Early written symbols in Chinese were pictographs, which are simply rudimentary drawings of what was/is being seen. Pictography is a form of writing which uses representational, pictorial drawings. It is a basis of cuneiform and to some extent, hieroglyphic writing. The kanji for forest (麻) also means hemp. If you look closely, you will note that the two five-pronged groups of strokes (林) blatantly resemble the upside down leaves of a male cannabis plant. The 广 portion of the symbol represents a grass hut, in which the leaves are being hung upside down to dry. So prolific and ubiquitous was cannabis in these days that the very symbol for forest drew its inspiration from the characteristic long fanned out leaf pattern still visible in the plant today.
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