Here is an explanation about the Japanese character (originally from Chinese) and how it is made up.

The word for autumn in Japanese is “aki”. The kanji (character)  has three parts. 

#1 is a tree: 

木

Note the verticle trunk with four branches…two flat and two drooping.

#2 is the katakana character pronounced “no”(ノ). It is place atop the tree. *

禾

#3 is the word for fire. See the flames? 火. It is placed to the right of the tree with the “tree top”:                                   

秋

Now, between the two flames, you will see a character that appears to be the kanji for “person” :

人

The ancient Chinese tried to draw a simplified character of an outside fire, and that is why it resembles the word for person:

So, there you have it: AUTUMN

秋

* Katakana is the second Japanese "alphabet" that is normally used for foreign words. English has at least 14 vowel pronunciations, but Japanese has only 5.  Therefore, the word for "volunteer" in katakana would be pronounced "ba-su-ba-ru".