方策
ほうさく · housaku · JLPT N1 · noun
plan
📋 方 = square/direction + 策 = bamboo strip plan; ancient bamboo slips were written plans
Ancient Chinese wrote plans and tactics on bamboo strips (策). 方策 is the set of plans or policies, the 'method' written down.
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.'