事業
じぎょう · jigyou · JLPT N1 · noun
undertaking
🏢 事 (matter) + 業 (work) = a matter of work: a business or project
事 means matter or affair, and 業 means work or industry. Joined, they name a piece of work taken on as a matter: a business venture or a project. The same word covers both a company and a single project.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).