方針
ほうしん · houshin · JLPT N2 · noun
aim
🧭 方 direction + 針 needle = the needle that points your course: plan or policy
方 means direction or way, and 針 means needle. As a compass needle fixes your heading, 方針 is the guiding aim that sets which way you go.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'