whip, rod, counter for whippings
鞭 centers on a long flexible tool for striking or urging: a whip or rod. The counter sense is a natural extension of using a whip to deliver lashes.
鞭 combines 革 (leather) with 便, which likely contributes the sound and may suggest the idea of something convenient or ready to hand, as a whip is a handy tool. The exact historical development of the right component is uncertain.
The left side 革 means leather, and the right side 便 looks like a person with a long flexible object. Picture a leather whip being used to deliver a convenient, ready lash.
For ベン, imagine a whip cracking with a sharp 'ben' sound as it strikes: ben -> ベン, and the leather whip snaps.
whip; lash; scourge
whipping; beating with a whip
teacher's cane; teacher's pointer
to whip; to lash; to give the rod; to spur on; to encourage
initiative; pioneering
encouragement; urging; spurring on
encouragement; urging; spurring on
Giardia lamblia (parasite that causes giardiasis)
giardiasis
to teach; to take a teaching job
birch rod
to speak ill of the dead; to criticize the dead
dinoflagellate
dinoflagellates
dinoflagellate
choanoflagellate
Choanoflagellatea (class of flagellate eukaryotes closely related to animals)
Choanozoa (phylum of protists closer to animals than to fungi)
to whip; to lash; to give the rod
whipping; using the whip