T'ang, China, foreign
唐 centers on the historical Tang dynasty of China, and by extension came to refer to China itself or things foreign, especially in older Japanese contexts.
唐 originally depicted a person speaking with an exaggerated mouth, possibly related to boasting or a large voice. It was later borrowed phonetically to represent the Tang dynasty, and its modern form retains 广 (building) over ヨ and 口, though the historical connection to the original meaning is uncertain.
Under a wide roof 广, a storyteller's mouth 口 speaks of far-off lands, with a hand gesture ヨ in between. This is the Tang dynasty, representing China and all things foreign.
For トウ, imagine a tall pagoda in Tang China with a big toe-shaped roof: toe -> トウ, and the toe points to the foreign land.
Tang dynasty (of China; 618-907); T'ang dynasty
Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis)
abrupt; sudden
capsicum (Capsicum annuum, esp. the cultivated chili peppers); chili pepper (chile, chilli); cayenne; red pepper
absurd; nonsensical; preposterous
arabesque pattern
(Japanese) larch (Larix leptolepis, Larix kaempferi)
envoy to Tang China
Chinese person
Chinese person; Korean person
hinged door
exotic non-Japanese wood (rosewood, ebony, blackwood, etc.); imported wood
blend of seven spices (cayenne, sesame, Japanese pepper, citrus peel, etc.)
arched bridge with Chinese-style railings; Chinese-style bridge
shishito pepper (variety of Capsicum annuum)
spruce tree (esp. Picea jezoensis hondoensis, a variety of Ezo spruce)
deep-frying food lightly coated in flour or potato starch; deep-fried food (esp. chicken)
shishito; small sweet green pepper
Norway spruce (Picea abies)
cayenne pepper powder