clique, lineage, pedigree, faction, clan
閥 centers on a closed group defined by shared blood or loyalty: a clan, lineage, or faction that operates as a clique. The pedigree sense is the inherited status that defines such a group.
閥 combines 門 (gate) with 伐, which likely contributes the sound バツ and carries a sense of cutting or attacking. The compound suggests a gate that separates a distinct group, giving the idea of a clan or faction.
A gate 門 encloses a group of people 伐 (伐 can suggest a person with a weapon, like a warrior clan). Picture a guarded gate that only opens for members of the same lineage or faction.
For バツ, imagine a clique that punishes outsiders with a batsu (罰, punishment): batsu -> バツ, and the gate 門 keeps the faction closed.
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clique; faction
zaibatsu; financial conglomerate; industrial group
clique; clan; faction
military clique; military party
alma mater clique; old school tie
lineage; pedigree; good family
Mitsui Zaibatsu
Mitsubishi Zaibatsu
Sumitomo Zaibatsu
intra-party faction
party faction; party clique
Beiyang Army
strong feelings of loyalty to one's old school; the old school tie
Yasuda Zaibatsu
new zaibatsu (formed after the Meiji period)
factionalism
factional dispute; factional strife; rivalry between factions
faction-based personnel appointment
factional dynamics; power relationships among factions; factional power politics
balance of power among factions (within a political party); factional balance