矢

矢

Arrow.

Here, '矢' is used to mean 'an arrow', which is a projectile shot with a bow.

彼は矢を的に撃った。

He shot the arrow at the target.

In this sentence, '矢' is used metaphorically to describe speed, referencing how fast an arrow flies.

これは矢のように速い走りです。

This is a run as fast as an arrow.

Here, the idiom '一矢報いる' (isshi mukuiru) uses '矢' figuratively to mean 'to repay or respond', using '矢' as a symbolic representation of counteraction.

その決断は一矢報いるものだった。

That decision was a repay in kind.