In
both
Japanese
and Chinese
script:
=
"way"
Pinyin:
Dào Wade-Giles: Tao Jap: Dò
Composition
of the Chinese Tao as in Taoism.
(Source: Wenlin)
According to Rose Quong in
her book Chinese Written Characters: Their
Wit and Wisdom, the Tao character is decomposed
to mean "the path of the warrior,"
where warrior-monks were the original keepers
of both martial arts and spiritual knowledge
and wisdom.
The decomposition etymology
for the character 
is distinguished by the tufts at the top,
representing the distinctive hairstyle of
the warrior class (a "bun"). The
character itself is used to refer to concepts
related to the head, such as leadership
and rulership.
This is meant to be evocative of its meaning
"to walk," and "to go,"
as well as the generic radix for "the
way of."
