東
トウ, ひがし, あい, あがり, あずま, あづま, こ, さき, しの, とお, はる, ひが, もと

east

JLPT5 G2 S8 F37

A depiction of a sack bound on two ends, with a stick run through it. *East* is either a borrowed meaning or an extended one, in the sense of the direction of the rising sun (the rays of which figuratively pierce the earth) → (in historical usage) *eastern Japan*.

[Full Kanji Etymology List]