towel, hanging scroll, width, cloth radical (no. 50)
巾 centers on a piece of cloth: a towel, a hanging scroll, or the width of fabric. The radical sense is the same cloth shape used as a component in other characters.
巾 is a pictograph of a hanging cloth or towel, with the vertical stroke representing the cloth and the horizontal strokes suggesting folds or a rod.
The vertical stroke is the cloth, and the horizontal strokes are folds or a rod. Picture a towel hanging from a bar: 巾 is a towel or cloth.
For キン, imagine a king using a royal towel: king -> キン, and the towel hangs in the palace.
headgear (esp. one made of cloth); hood; kerchief; cap; skullcap; hat
house-cloth; dust cloth
drawstring purse; money pouch
napkin; cloth
hanger-on; follower; flunky; sycophant
tokin; small black headgear worn by yamabushi
dish towel; tea towel; dishcloth
triangular bandage; sling
bouffant cloth cap (traditionally worn by old people and monks)
dirty worn-out rag
triangle headband; triangular scarf
bouffant cloth cap (traditionally worn by old people and monks)
helmet-shaped hood
table-wiping cloth
bouffant cloth cap (traditionally worn by old people and monks)
kanji "cloth" radical at left
vertical part of kanmuri cap
pickpocket
purse seine
pocketbook plant (any plant of genus Calceolaria)