What is the etymology of kanji 関?


I didn't find an explanation or clear etymology for the kanji 関.




Kanji etymologies are often more an aspect of Chinese than Japanese.
Wiktionary tends to be a good source for Chinese character origins and some
sense development.

  * [Entry for 関](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%96%A2#Glyph_origin)
  * [Entry for older _kyūjitai_ 關](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%97%9C#Glyph_origin)

As we see there, this was originally composed as semantic (meaning) element 門
("gate, door") + phonetic (sound) element (probably something like //*kroːn//
in Old Chinese), referring to a door being closed or locked.




Kanji etymologies are often more an aspect of Chinese than Japanese.
Wiktionary tends to be a good source for Chinese character origins and some
sense development.

  * [Entry for 関](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%96%A2#Glyph_origin)
  * [Entry for older _kyūjitai_ 關](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%97%9C#Glyph_origin)

As we see there, this was originally composed as semantic (meaning) element 門
("gate, door") + phonetic (sound) element (probably something like //*kroːn//
in Old Chinese), referring to a door being closed or locked.

