barbarian
蛮 centers on the idea of uncivilized or crude behavior, often associated with outsiders or barbarians. The meaning is pejorative and refers to people or actions seen as rough and lacking refinement.
蛮 combines 虫 (insect/reptile) with 亦, which may have contributed a phonetic element. The character originally referred to southern tribes and carried a derogatory sense, associating them with lowly creatures.
The top 亦 looks like a person with arms spread, and the bottom 虫 is an insect. Imagine a wild, uncivilized person acting like a bug—crude and barbaric.
For バン, picture a barbarian banging a drum: bang -> バン, and the wild sound matches the uncivilized image.
savage; barbarous; barbaric; uncivilized; uncivilised
southern barbarians (name used in ancient China for non-Chinese ethnic groups to the south)
barbarian tribe; savage tribe
act of barbarity; barbarism; brutality; savagery
foolhardiness; recklessness; savage valour; savage valor; brute courage
savage; barbarian; aboriginal
fried chicken with vinegar and tartar sauce
Western European (esp. the Spanish and the Portuguese); southern barbarian
Christianity
Christian churches built in Japan in the second half of the 16th century
painted folding screen with scenes of early European visitors to Japan
imported to Japan by early European traders
roasted or deep-fried fish or meat, marinated in a spicy sauce
sauteed vegetables with fish or poultry made into a stew
berry catchfly (Silene baccifera); Cucubalus baccifer (former name)
foreign ship (esp. from Spain and Portugal from the late Muromachi period to the early Edo period); Nanban trade ship
confections adopted from Portugal, Spain, etc. during the Muromachi period and since Japanized
Nanban trade; Japanese trade with Spain and Portugal (1543-1641)
chili pepper
corn; maize