Henohenomoheji

File:Henohenomoheji.svg

Henohenomoheji (Template:Langx ) or hehenonomoheji () is a face known to be drawn by Japanese schoolchildren using hiragana characters. It became a popular drawing during the Edo period.

File:Shoujo November 1910 with translation.jpg

File:Shoujo November 1910 with translation.jpg

Template:Magnify iconA featuring in a manga panel in the 1910 issue of the Japanese girls' magazine

Composition

The word breaks down into seven hiragana characters: he (), no (), he (), no (), mo (), he (), and ji (). The first two he are the eyebrows, the two no are the eyes, the mo is a nose, and the last he is the mouth. The outline of the face is made by the character ji, its two short strokes (dakuten) forming the ear or cheek.

Henohenomoheji is often used to symbolize an undistinguished or generic human face, such as the faces of kakashi (scarecrows) and teru teru bōzu. The characters are often sung as they are drawn, making the an . There is a similar typographical face known as tsurunihamarumarumushi (つるニハ◯◯ムし), but it isn't as popular as the henohenomoheji.

Gallery

• As a graffito
  As a graffito
• On a Script error: No such module "lang".
  On a
• On a scarecrow
  On a scarecrow
• An early example as a detail on a Script error: No such module "lang". from the 19th century
  An early example as a detail on a from the 19th century

See also

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External links

• Template:Webarchive Template:In lang

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