(^^)

What do you think these puzzling symbols are that sometimes appear in sentences on Japanese websites?
(^^), (^_^;), (T_T), these are called “KAOMOJI” in Japan.
In English-speaking countries, it is called an “Emoticon” and 🙂 and :_( are used.

Image reference : Simeji.me

These are mainly used at the end of sentences to express subtle sentiments that cannot be conveyed by letters alone.　It is bad manners to use it in official texts, and it is mainly used in private emails, chat communications, blogs and social networking sites.　Its use used to be more pronounced among the younger generation, but nowadays many older generations also use it.

In fact, in “KAOMOJI” and “Emoticon”, language circumstances and ethnicity seem to play a significant role.

KAOMOJI
It may be difficult for people from overseas to understand the KAOMOJI used in Japan.

This is because people from overseas are not used to seeing Japanese KAOMOJI and therefore have trouble understanding it. In the first place, Japanese KAOMOJI is ‘portrait’ orientated, whereas foreign Emoticon is often ‘landscape’ orientated.

This is said to be due to the keyboard corresponding to the language of that country.”Japanese keyboards, which must support “kanji”, “hiragana”, “katakana” and “alphabet”, also make it easier to call various special symbols, making it easier to create “portrait-oriented KAOMOJI”.

Special symbols can also be typed on alphabet-only keyboards, but it takes more time to recall them, so they are typed on keys that are easier to type, resulting in a “horizontal emoticon”.

And it is also said that, in general, Japanese people use KAOMOJI more frequently.　In my opinion, this seems to be a phenomenon largely related to the ethnicity of the Japanese.

It can be said that strongly and clearly asserting one’s own position and thoughts is a behaviour with which the Japanese have little affinity.　Japanese people do not make clear assertions in writing or body language, and kaomoji is a supplementary part that they use to convey their feelings.

They do not say things clearly and do not know how they feel. This is the image that people overseas have of the Japanese.　Why do Japanese people want to avoid assertiveness so much?

One reason is the state of Japan’s land.

Japan separated from the Asian continent 20-30 million years ago and became an island.　The Japanese people were then formed from a mixture of races that originated within the land, some from the north, some from the southern islands, and some from the continent.

Surrounded on all sides by the sea, the land is limited. In order for people to live as peacefully as possible, they had no choice but to suppress their self-assertiveness and prioritise harmony as a whole.

Of course, this does not mean that there were no conflicts within the country. As far as we know, there have probably been at least several hundred civil wars in the last 2000 years.

Even so, except in times of war, we try to keep things as peaceful as possible. Those with power and those without power should be moderate. That is the basic value and criterion of the Japanese people.

In the end, this is reflected in our behaviour.
As a result, this is reflected in behaviour, in conversation and in writing.
Kuhki-wo-Yomu (reading the air), which is regarded as important in Japanese society, also comes from the idea of “understanding each other’s intentions without having to say it clearly”.

In letters and e-mails, where it is difficult to see each other and get a sense of the other person’s mood, it is often necessary to compensate for the difficulty of reading the atmosphere. KAOMOJI is used to compensate for sentences in which it is difficult to read the atmosphere.

Japanese people, who like to be inventive, have devised a variety of kaomojis, the total number of which is said to number in the hundreds or thousands…

Emoticon is used in many countries around the world to suit their national circumstances.

In this article, I wrote about the Japanese and KAOMOJI.
It might be interesting to investigate the relationship between Emoticon and the history of other countries ＼(^o^)／.