briar, thorn
茨 centers on thorny, tangled plants: a briar or thorn bush. The idea is a plant that catches and scratches with sharp points.
茨 combines 艹 (grass) with 次, which likely contributes the sound and may suggest a secondary or lesser plant, fitting a thorny weed.
The grass radical 艹 sits above 次, like a secondary, unwanted plant that grows among crops. Picture a thorny briar that catches you as you walk through the field.
For シ, imagine a sharp thorn making you hiss 'shhh!' in pain: shhh -> シ, and the briar scratches your skin.
Ibaraki (prefecture)
thorny shrub
Ibaraki University
Smilax china (species of sarsaparilla)
thatched roof
thorny
a crown of thorns
thorny path
thorn hedge
Ibaraki Christian University
Ibaraki Women's Junior College
Ibaraki prefecture
Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences
Ibaraki Prefectural Library
Ibaraki Prefectural Police (abbr)
spiny water nymph (Najas marina); spiny naiad; holly-leaved naiad
spiny lebbeid (Lebbeus groenlandicus)
Caesalpinia decapetala var. japonica