crow, raven
烏 centers on the crow or raven as a bird, often specifically the black-feathered corvid.
烏 is a pictograph of a crow or raven. The modern form preserves a stylized bird shape, with the missing inner stroke compared to 鳥 (bird) traditionally explained as representing the difficulty of seeing a crow's eye against its black feathers.
The shape is a bird without the eye stroke inside: a crow is so black you cannot see its eye. 烏 is a crow.
For ウ, imagine a crow cawing 'oooh, oooh' in a spooky scene: oooh -> ウ, and the crow's call echoes.
cuttlefish; squid
crow (Corvus spp.); raven
Wuhuan (proto-Mongolic nomadic people)
eboshi; black-lacquered headgear made of silk, cloth or paper, originally worn by court nobles in ancient Japan
firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans); sparkling enope squid
disorderly gathering
sun and moon
Yatagarasu; raven who aided Emperor Jimmu on his eastern expedition
small, crow-billed tengu
Ürümqi (China)
spear squid (Loligo bleekeri)
ruling pen
dried aconite root (used in traditional Chinese medicine); monkshood
trio; triumvirate; three famous retainers
Kyoto merchant
even an eccentric head of family must be obeyed
a child's emotions change easily; the bird that cried now laughs
Yatagarasu; raven who aided Emperor Jimmu on his eastern expedition
crow cawing on New Year's Day
swordtip squid (Photololigo edulis)