議事堂
ぎじどう · gijidou · JLPT N1 · noun
building
🏛️ 議事堂 = 議 debate + 事 matters + 堂 hall: the hall where the Diet debates
議 means deliberate, 事 means affair or matter, and 堂 means hall. Together they name the hall where lawmakers deliberate on national affairs.
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).
堂 — earth 土 + phonetic 尚
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 ('earth/ground') gives the meaning, while 尚 supplies the sound. It originally referred to a raised earthen platform or the main hall of a building built on such a foundation. From there it broadened to mean 'hall', 'main room', and by extension formal gatherings or halls of learning.