vehicle, palanquin, litter, hitch up an animal
駕 centers on a vehicle or conveyance, especially one carried by people or pulled by an animal. The idea extends naturally to hitching up an animal to pull such a vehicle.
駕 combines 加 (add, apply) and 馬 (horse), suggesting applying a horse to a vehicle or hitching up. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the phono-semantic structure is plausible.
The top 加 looks like adding force, and the bottom 馬 is a horse. Picture adding a horse to a carriage to create a vehicle that can be ridden or used to carry a palanquin.
For カ, imagine a car being hitched to a horse: car -> カ, and the horse pulls the vehicle.
excelling; surpassing; outdoing
vehicle; horse-drawn carriage
crude palanquin; street palanquin
mounting (during animal copulation)
departure (of a noble)
mountain palanquin
special palanquin for carrying a daimyo or his wife incognito
palanquin
two people riding in a palanquin together (esp. a man and a woman)
imperial carriage
palanquin made of wickerwork
harnessing (a horse to a cart, esp. for a race)
harness racing
harness racing
street palanquin
palanquin; litter; bier; kago
palanquin bearer; sedan chair bearer
sedan chair bearer; palanquin bearer; sedan chair business
imperial carriage