束縛
そくばく · sokubaku · JLPT N1 · noun
restraint
🔗 束 (bundle) + 縛 (tie up) = bundled and tied tight, i.e. restraint
Both characters mean to bind: 束 gathers things into a bundle, and 縛 ties them fast. Together they name restraint or confinement.
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.