故 means reason; old; the late (deceased) and is a JLPT N1 kanji. It has 9 strokes and uses the hand holding a stick, striking radical (攵).
Stroke order · 9 strokes
On'yomi (音読み)
コ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
ゆえ、ふる(い)、もと
Radical
攵 · hand holding a stick, striking
Strokes
9
How to remember 故
Poking at an old (古) event with a stick (攵) — searching for the cause. 故障 (breaking down) — a machine's ailment; 故郷 (hometown) — a word full of nostalgia.