bag, bale, sack, counter for bags
俵 centers on a container made for bundling and carrying bulk goods: a bag, sack, or bale, especially the traditional straw rice bag. The counter sense is a natural extension of counting such bags.
俵 combines 亻 (person) with 表, which likely contributes the sound and may relate to the idea of an outer covering or surface, as a bag is an outer container. The exact historical development is uncertain.
A person 亻 beside 表 (surface/outside) suggests a person handling an outer covering: a bag or sack used to wrap and carry things.
For ヒョウ, imagine a person carrying a heavy bag and letting out a loud 'hyo!' sound as they lift it: hyo -> ヒョウ.
(wrestling) ring
straw bag; sack; bale
entrance procession of wrestlers into the ring
edge of the ring
one (straw) bagful
4 corner bales on the outer rim of the sumo ring
number of straw bags
goods in straw bags
making bags out of this year's straw (during autumn)
Elaeagnus multiflora var. hortensis (variety of goumi)
Edo-period form of torture in which criminals were stuffed into straw bags with their heads exposed, piled together, and whipped (commonly used on Christians)
snow roller (wind-blown roll of snow)
bales forming the edge of the ring
first tournament for a wrestler
bales forming the edge of the ring
wrestler's active career
wrestler's belt used in a bout
waiting place for a wrestler beside the ring
ceremony to purify the ring before the start of a tournament
opening ceremony for the new ring in a stable