束
たば · taba · JLPT N3 · noun
bunch
💐 束 = 木 tree + 口 a cord looped round it: sticks tied in a bundle
The kanji began as a drawing of wood with a band tied around its middle. Verbal hook: TABA sounds like tobacco, and tobacco leaves are dried and sold tied in bundles. Hanataba 花束 (flower + bundle) means a bouquet.
束 — 木 (tree) with 口 wrapped around middle
Pictograph of a bundle: a tree or sticks (木) tied together with a band or rope (depicted by the enclosing 口 in the middle). The original sense was 'to bind' or 'a bundle,' which extended to meanings like 'to restrain,' 'to control,' and the measure word for bundled things.