also: かともじ
ancient seal-script character; tadpole script character
Refers to characters in an ancient Chinese seal script (蝌蚪文) whose strokes resemble tadpoles. A historical and calligraphic term; not used in everyday language.
See also: 篆字
Tadpole script is a type of seal script with thick, rounded strokes.
This stone monument is inscribed with tadpole-script characters.
篆字 is a broader term for seal script; 蝌蚪文字 is a specific style within seal script characterized by tadpole-like strokes.
Standard kanji spelling for this historical term.
Alternate reading; less common than かともんじ.
From Chinese 蝌蚪文 (kēdǒuwén), literally 'tadpole script', referring to the resemblance of the strokes to tadpoles. The Japanese reading かともんじ (or かともじ) is the on'yomi of the kanji.