閉める
shi-me-ru
A tap, a curtain, a shop: all pressed shut
The picture You press an open gap together so nothing can pass through it any more. 閉める presses an open gap shut; 開ける moves the blocker aside to leave that gap.
Where the picture shows up in 閉める
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Pressing a door shut
ドアを閉めてください。
doa o shimete kudasai
Please close the door.
The open door is pushed until it meets the frame and the gap disappears.
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Shutting out the outside air
寒いので窓を閉めます。
samui node mado o shime-masu
It is cold, so I will close the window.
The window is pulled shut, blocking the gap the cold air was coming through.
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Shutting out the view
カーテンを閉めましょうか。
kāten o shime-mashō ka
Shall I draw the curtains?
The two halves of the curtain are drawn until they overlap and the outside light is cut off.
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Shutting off a flow
蛇口をしっかり閉めてください。
jaguchi o shikkari shimete kudasai
Please turn the tap off tightly.
The tap is turned until the running water stops, down to the last drop.
Same picture: the gap the water ran through is pressed shut.
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Closing a shop to customers
店は九時に閉めます。
mise wa ku-ji ni shime-masu
We close the store at nine.
The raised shutter is pulled down until the shop's doorway is blocked to the floor.
All of it in one picture
閉める is one hand pressing an open gap together. Bring the door to the frame and there is no way through; pull the window and the cold air's route is gone; overlap the curtains and the light's route is cut; turn the tap and the water's route is cut; pull the shutter down and the customers' route is cut. Air, light, water, people — the picture never changes: two surfaces that were apart come together and the passage is gone.