barracks, police station, camp, ton
屯 centers on a group of people gathered in one place: a camp, barracks, or police station where people assemble. The 'ton' sense is a modern loan usage for a unit of weight, unrelated to the gathering idea.
屯 is a pictograph of a sprout pushing through the ground, suggesting gathering or assembling. The modern form retains the sprout-like shape, and the meanings of camp or barracks likely derive from the idea of people gathering together.
The shape looks like a sprout pushing up through soil, but think of it as a group of people gathering together in one place, like a camp or barracks.
For トン, imagine a ton of people gathering at the barracks: ton -> トン, and the camp is crowded with a ton of soldiers.
stationing (troops); garrisoning
gathering; place where people gather
colonization; colonisation
military station; post; quarters
vice-; sub-
vice-camp; sub-camp
sub base; sub-base; minor base
to gather (of people); to assemble; to hang out
to gather (of people); to assemble; to hang out
to gather (of people); to assemble; to hang out
military camp; barracks; camping
agricultural soldiers; colonizers; colonisers
egg-shaped glutinous rice ball (Heian, Kamakura periods); tray or container for serving rice balls
zhun (hexagram 3 of the I Ching: difficulty at the beginning)
deadweight tonnage
garrison; military base
military station; post
garrison; occupation forces