房

chamber, room; cluster; tuft; tassel; cell

Kanji 1809

Because 房 has many disparate definitions, one can't immediately see how they connect. The key is to think of the small spaces you get by dividing a big space several ways. The heart divides into 4 chambers. An orange splits into equal sections. A prison has many small cells. The 房 kanji covers all these meanings and more, including associations with wives and sex.

Revision history:

Dec. 15, 2012: Fixed a typo on page 14 in the photo caption. In terms of yomi, this is correct: 厳選 (げんせん: careful selection).