関西
かんさい · kansai · JLPT N2 · noun
japan
関 (seki, barrier/gate) + 西 (west): the gate-land to the west, where the Kansai region sits.
関 means checkpoint or barrier, and 西 means west. Kansai lies west of the old Ise-Suzuka barrier (Kanto's gate), so the compound literally names the western gate-side region.
西 — top 覀 (cover) + bottom 儿 (legs); originally a bird in nest
Originally a pictograph of a bird settling into its nest at dusk. Because birds return to roost when the sun sets in the west, the character was borrowed to mean 'west.' The original 'nest' meaning was later written with 棲/栖.