staff, cane
杖 centers on a long stick used for support or as a tool: a staff or a cane.
杖 combines 木 (tree/wood) with 丈, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of a long measure, suggesting a wooden staff or cane.
The left side is a tree 木, and the right side 丈 looks like a tall person leaning on a stick. Picture a wooden staff carved from a tree, used as a cane.
For ジョウ, imagine a Joe using a wooden staff: Joe -> ジョウ, and Joe leans on his cane.
cane; walking stick; staff; wand
crutch; crutches
Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica); flowering bamboo
resting one's chin in one's hands
khakkhara (staff topped with metal rings traditionally carried by monks); pewter staff
rod of Asclepius
swordstick; sword cane; loaded cane
blow received by a bystander; getting dragged in to someone else's fight
tree branch used as a charm against evil
Orb and Sceptre (march by Sir William Walton)
staff (esp. one used by a monk, e.g. as a walking stick during a pilgrimage)
flail with a retractable iron weight and chain
crutches
brace (in construction); angle brace
public caning (60-100 strokes; second least severe of the five ritsuryō punishments)
to count on someone as the only support
don't be a burden to others; lean on your cane, but don't lean on others
to walk with a cane
to carry a cane
person upon whom one relies