から
kara
から is a starting line, and that is all it is
The picture The mouth something starts coming out of. From there a line runs onward. から is the mouth the line comes out of; まで is where you lift the pen off that line.
Where the picture shows up in から
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the hour it starts
九時から始まります。
ku-ji kara hajimarimasu
It starts at nine.
A line setting off from the nine o'clock mark and running out to the right
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the place you set out from
駅から歩いて五分です。
eki kara aruite go-fun desu
It's five minutes' walk from the station.
Stepping out of the station exit and starting to count your paces from there
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the person it came from
課長から聞きました。
kachō kara kikimashita
I heard it from the section chief.
Words coming out of the section chief's mouth and crossing over to your ear
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the material it came out of
これは米から作ります。
kore wa kome kara tsukurimasu
This is made from rice.
Grains of rice ground down, worked into a paste, coming out in another shape
If you can still see the original shape, use で (木で作る); if it turned into something else, use から (米から作る).
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the reason it came out of
熱があるから、今日は休みます。
netsu ga aru kara, kyō wa yasumimasu
I have a fever, so I'll take today off.
A line starting at the heat on your forehead and running on to the decision to take the day off
All of it in one picture
から is the mouth something starts coming out of. Start the line at the nine o'clock mark and you get 'from nine'; start it at the station exit and you get 'from the station'; let words out of the chief's mouth and you get 'from the chief'. Let something come out of rice and it is the material; let a decision come out of a fever and it is the reason. Whatever carries から is where the line began.