Written from Japan, October 2026. A companion to a travel journal.
We type 🍙 to say "I'm hungry", 🙏 to say "thanks", 💢 when we're annoyed. Without thinking about it. Yet each of these little drawings tells a Japanese story, and a good part of the emoji keyboard is really an inventory of everyday Japanese life in the 1990s. Once you're there, you see them everywhere: on road signs, in konbini, on traffic lights. This post is an attempt to put them back in context.
Table of Contents
Table des matières
Where do emoji come from?
In 1999, Shigetaka Kurita, a designer at the Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, drew 176 tiny 12 × 12 pixel pictograms for i-mode, the ancestor of the mobile internet. The idea: convey an emotion or a piece of information (weather, a heart, a train) in a single character, on phones that could only display text. Each Japanese carrier then built its own set, incompatible with the others.
In 2010, the Unicode Consortium (which standardises every character in the world) folded these sets into its standard, and in 2011 Apple switched on the emoji keyboard on the iPhone outside Japan: emoji went global.
That's why so much of the catalogue is Japanese: onigiri, torii, kadomatsu and kanji buttons were there before everyone else. Kurita's 176 originals entered the MoMA collection in New York in 2016.
Did you know? The word "emoji" comes from the Japanese 絵 (e, "picture") + 文字 (moji, "character"). The resemblance to "emotion" is pure coincidence.
In the tables below, the "Elsewhere in the world" column describes how the emoji is understood, or hijacked, outside Japan.
Symbols and places
| Emoji | English | Japanese | Explanation | Elsewhere in the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇯🇵 | Flag of Japan | 日の丸 (hinomaru) | The "sun disc", national flag | Same meaning everywhere |
| 🎌 | Crossed flags | 交差した日の丸 (kōsa shita hinomaru) | Symbol of national holidays | Rarely used, often read as "party" or "sports" |
| 🗾 | Map of Japan | 日本地図 (nihon chizu) | The only country with its own map emoji | Shorthand for "trip to Japan" |
| 🗻 | Mount Fuji | 富士山 (Fujisan) | Sacred mountain, 3,776 m | Taken for a generic snowy mountain |
| 🗼 | Tokyo Tower | 東京タワー (Tōkyō Tawā) | Built in 1958, inspired by the Eiffel Tower | Often mistaken for the Eiffel Tower |
| ⛩️ | Torii / shrine | 鳥居 (torii) | Gate marking the entrance to a Shintō shrine | Evokes "Japan" in general, sometimes taken for a Buddhist temple |
| 🏯 | Japanese castle | 城 (shiro) | Feudal castle, Himeji or Osaka style | Often taken for a temple or a pagoda |
| 🏣 | Japanese post office | 郵便局 (yūbinkyoku) | The 〒 is the Japanese postal mark | The 〒 isn't recognised; 🏤 is preferred |
| 🏪 | Konbini | コンビニ (konbini) | 24/7 convenience store | Read as any shop, open 24/7 |
| 🏩 | Love hotel | ラブホテル (rabu hoteru) | Pay-by-the-hour hotel, a Japanese concept | Taken for a romantic hotel or a honeymoon |
| ♨️ | Hot springs | 温泉 (onsen) | Official onsen pictogram | Read as "hot", "steam" or "spa" |
| 🚅 | Shinkansen | 新幹線 (shinkansen) | Bullet train with its long nose | Generic high-speed train |
| 🗿 | Moyai | モヤイ像 (Moyai-zō) | Refers to the Moyai statue in Shibuya, not the Moai | Taken for an Easter Island Moai; became a meme for "deadpan" |
| 💴 | Yen banknote | 円 (en) | Japanese currency | Money, high prices, "Japan is expensive" |
Festivals and traditions
| Emoji | English | Japanese | Explanation | Elsewhere in the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🎍 | Kadomatsu | 門松 (kadomatsu) | New Year decoration of pine and bamboo | Taken for a potted plant or decorative bamboo |
| 🎎 | Japanese dolls | 雛人形 (hina ningyō) | Hinamatsuri, Girls' Day (3 March) | Taken for a couple in kimono, a wedding |
| 🎏 | Carp streamers | 鯉のぼり (koinobori) | Kodomo no hi, Children's Day (5 May) | Windsock, fish, party decoration |
| 🎋 | Wish tree | 七夕 (tanabata) | Star Festival (7 July), wishes hung on bamboo | Decorated bamboo, sometimes an "exotic Christmas tree" |
| 🎐 | Wind chime | 風鈴 (fūrin) | The sound of the Japanese summer | Taken for a jellyfish or a lantern |
| 🎑 | Moon viewing | 月見 (tsukimi) | Autumn moon festival, with dango and susuki grass | Taken for a night landscape or the countryside |
| 🎆 | Fireworks | 花火 (hanabi) | Summer festivals (hanabi taikai) | Same meaning: party, New Year, 4th of July |
| 🎇 | Sparkler | 線香花火 (senkō hanabi) | Small hand-held firework | Spark, celebration |
| 🏮 | Red lantern | 提灯 (chōchin) | Marks an izakaya or a festival | Taken for a Chinese lantern (Chinese New Year) |
| 🎊 | Confetti ball | くす玉 (kusudama) | Ball opened at celebrations | Confetti, party, birthday |
| 🎴 | Flower cards | 花札 (hanafuda) | Traditional card game (where Nintendo started) | Taken for a playing card or a tarot card |
| 🀄 | Mahjong red dragon | 麻雀 (mājan) | Chinese in origin, hugely popular in Japan | Associated with China, mahjong |
| 👘 | Kimono | 着物 (kimono) | Traditional garment | Same meaning; sometimes "bathrobe" |
| 🪭 | Folding fan | 扇子 (sensu) | Traditional fan | Heat, elegance, flamenco |
| 🥋 | Martial arts uniform | 道着 (dōgi) | Judo, karate, aikido | Generic karate, black belt |
| 🌸 | Cherry blossom | 桜 (sakura) | Symbol of spring and of the ephemeral | Generic pink flower, softness, "cute", spring |
| 🍁 | Maple leaf | 紅葉 (momiji / kōyō) | The red maples of autumn | Canada, autumn |
| 🎒 | School bag | ランドセル (randoseru) | The stiff backpack of Japanese schoolchildren | Backpack, back to school, hiking |
| 📛 | Name badge | 名札 (nafuda) | Tulip-shaped kindergarten badge | Often taken for a flower or a fire symbol |
Food
| Emoji | English | Japanese | Explanation | Elsewhere in the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🍣 | Sushi | 寿司 (sushi) | Vinegared rice and raw fish | Same meaning, globalised |
| 🍙 | Rice ball | おにぎり (onigiri) | Rice triangle wrapped in nori | Often unknown, taken for sushi |
| 🍘 | Rice cracker | 煎餅 (senbei) | Crunchy rice cracker | Taken for a cookie or a biscuit |
| 🍚 | Bowl of rice | ご飯 (gohan) | White rice, the base of every meal | Generic rice |
| 🍜 | Bowl of noodles | ラーメン (rāmen) | Steaming ramen | Ramen, pho, noodle soup in general |
| 🍛 | Curry rice | カレーライス (karē raisu) | Japanese curry, the unofficial national dish | Taken for an Indian or Thai curry |
| 🍢 | Oden | おでん (oden) | Skewers simmered in broth, a winter dish | Little known; taken for a kebab or a skewer |
| 🍡 | Dango | 団子 (dango) | Glutinous rice balls on a skewer | Taken for sweets or a fruit skewer |
| 🍥 | Narutomaki | なると巻き (narutomaki) | Fish-cake slice with a pink spiral | Often unknown; taken for a sweet or a decorative swirl |
| 🍱 | Bentō | 弁当 (bentō) | Compartmented takeaway meal | Lunchbox, takeaway |
| 🍶 | Sake | 日本酒 (nihonshu) | Tokkuri flask and ochoko cup | Sake, sometimes "teapot" |
| 🍵 | Green tea | 緑茶 (ryokucha) | Handleless yunomi cup | Tea in general, herbal tea, matcha |
| 🥟 | Gyōza | 餃子 (gyōza) | Pan-fried dumplings | Chinese dumpling, momo |
| 🍤 | Fried shrimp | エビフライ (ebi furai) | Breaded shrimp, or tempura | Tempura, scampi |
| 🍠 | Roasted sweet potato | 焼き芋 (yakiimo) | Sold from trucks in winter | Generic sweet potato |
| 🍧 | Shaved ice | かき氷 (kakigōri) | Summer dessert with syrup | Granita, snow cone |
| 🍮 | Custard | プリン (purin) | Hugely popular crème caramel | Crème caramel, pudding |
| 🍰 | Shortcake | ショートケーキ (shōtokēki) | Strawberry and cream cake, a Christmas classic | Slice of cake, birthday |
| 🐡 | Fugu | 河豚 (fugu) | Poisonous pufferfish, a regulated delicacy | Cute blowfish, aquarium |
| 🥢 | Chopsticks | 箸 (hashi) | Basic cutlery | Asian food in general |
Gestures, characters and manga
| Emoji | English | Japanese | Explanation | Elsewhere in the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🙇 | Person bowing | お辞儀 (ojigi) | Greeting, apology, respect | Taken for push-ups, meditation or "hiding" |
| 🙏 | Folded hands | 合掌 (gasshō) | Thank you, sorry, itadakimasu | Prayer; or "high five" (a famous debate) |
| 🙆 | Arms in an O | 丸 (maru) | "OK", yes | Taken for holding one's head, dancing, a ballerina |
| 🙅 | Arms in an X | バツ (batsu) | "No", forbidden | Read as "stop", sometimes without getting the gesture |
| ⭕ | Circle | 丸 (maru) | Right, correct | Red circle, "zero", target |
| ❌ | Cross | バツ (batsu) | Wrong, incorrect | Same meaning: error, no |
| 💁 | Information desk person | 案内 (annai) | Information, from Japanese pagers | Sarcasm, "whatever", sassy attitude |
| 👹 | Oni | 鬼 (oni) | Demon, chased away at Setsubun | Monster, devil, anger |
| 👺 | Tengu | 天狗 (tengu) | Long-nosed mountain creature | Taken for a mask, a liar (long nose) |
| 🥷 | Ninja | 忍者 (ninja) | Spy of the feudal era | Stealth, "ninja mode", hacker |
| 💢 | Anger symbol | 怒りマーク (ikari māku) | Bulging vein in manga | Little understood; taken for a decorative pattern |
| 💦 | Sweat droplets | 汗 (ase) | Embarrassment or effort, manga code | Water, splash, sexual innuendo |
| 💮 | White flower | 花丸 (hanamaru) | Teachers' "very good" stamp | Pretty flower, unknown as a school grade |
| 🔰 | Beginner leaf | 初心者マーク (shoshinsha māku) | Sticker for novice drivers | Completely unknown; taken for a logo or a leaf |
Kanji buttons (signage)
| Emoji | English | Japanese | Explanation | Elsewhere in the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🈁 | Here | ココ (koko) | "Here", in katakana | Unreadable, decorative |
| 🈂️ | Service | サ (sa) | Service charge | Unreadable |
| 🈷️ | Monthly | 月 (tsuki) | Monthly amount | Unreadable |
| 🈶 | Not free | 有 (yū) | "There is" (a charge) | Unreadable |
| 🈚 | Free | 無 (mu) | "There is no" (charge) | Unreadable |
| 🈸 | Application | 申 (shin) | Application, request | Unreadable |
| 🈹 | Discount | 割 (wari) | Reduction | Unreadable |
| 🈺 | Open | 営 (ei) | Business in operation | Unreadable |
| 🈯 | Reserved | 指 (shi) | Designated seat | Unreadable |
| 🈲 | Prohibited | 禁 (kin) | Prohibition | Sometimes recognised by manga/anime fans |
| 🈳 | Vacancy | 空 (kū) | Seat or room available | Unreadable |
| 🈵 | Full | 満 (man) | No vacancy | Unreadable |
| 🈴 | Passed | 合 (gō) | Exam passed | Unreadable |
| 🉐 | Bargain | 得 (toku) | Advantage, deal | Unreadable |
| 🉑 | Acceptable | 可 (ka) | Allowed, possible | Unreadable |
| ㊗️ | Congratulations | 祝 (shuku) | Celebration | Unreadable; sometimes used for "party" by otaku |
| ㊙️ | Secret | 秘 (hi) | Confidential | Unreadable; the circle looks like a seal |
The kanji buttons come straight from the 1999 Japanese carrier pictograms: they displayed shop or booking information on tiny screens. Outside Japan they're useless, but Unicode never removes a character.
Born in Japan, now universal
These emoji look nothing like "Japan", yet they come from the original sets (DoCoMo, au, SoftBank) and their design gives away their origin: road signs, pager codes, 2000s pop culture. Unicode standardised them as they were.
| Emoji | English | Japanese | Explanation | Elsewhere in the world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏨 | Hotel | ホテル (hoteru) | The "H" is the Japanese road sign for hotel | Generic hotel, the H looks like decoration |
| 🏦 | Bank | 銀行 (ginkō) | The "BK" comes from carrier pictograms | Bank, money |
| 🏧 | ATM | ATM (ētīemu) | Japanese ATM sign | Same meaning |
| 🏥 | Hospital | 病院 (byōin) | Red cross on a typical Japanese building | Same meaning |
| 🏬 | Department store | デパート (depāto) | The "DEPT" of department store | Shopping mall |
| 🚥 | Horizontal traffic light | 信号機 (shingōki) | Japanese traffic lights are horizontal | Few countries use this layout; the vertical 🚦 was added later |
| 🚉 | Station | 駅 (eki) | Train stopped at a platform, JR style | Generic station |
| 🚇 | Metro | 地下鉄 (chikatetsu) | Train in a tunnel | Same meaning |
| 💺 | Seat | 座席 (zaseki) | Train or plane seat, seat reservation | Plane, travel |
| 🛀 | Bath | 風呂 (furo) | Person in a bathtub, bathing culture | Bath, relaxation |
| 🚻 | Restroom | トイレ (toire) | Man/woman pictogram | Same meaning |
| 🚾 | WC | 便所 (benjo) | The letters WC, common in Japan | Same meaning |
| 📳 | Vibration mode | マナーモード (manā mōdo) | "Manner mode", mandatory on trains | Vibrating phone, settings |
| 📴 | Phone off | 電源オフ (dengen ofu) | Pictogram from transport notices | Same meaning |
| 📵 | No mobile phones | 携帯禁止 (keitai kinshi) | Ban in public places | Same meaning |
| 🔞 | No one under 18 | 18禁 (jūhachi-kin) | The "18 kin" of adult shops and content | Adult content, same meaning |
| 🆖 | NG | エヌジー (enujī) | "No good", everyday Japanese expression (blooper reel = NG集) | Not understood; read as "not good" by guesswork |
| 🆗 | OK | オーケー (ōkē) | Pager confirmation button | Same meaning |
| 🆙 | UP | アップ (appu) | "Updated", "new episode online" | Taken for "upwards", "level up" |
| 🆕 | NEW | ニュー (nyū) | New arrival, shop badge | Same meaning |
| 🆓 | FREE | 無料 (muryō) | Free of charge | Same meaning |
| 🆒 | COOL | クール (kūru) | 90s pager slang | Same meaning, a bit dated |
| 🆚 | VS | 対 (tai) | Match, duel | Same meaning |
| 🅰️ 🅱️ 🆎 🅾️ | Blood types | 血液型 (ketsueki-gata) | In Japan, blood type is believed to define personality | Letters repurposed: "B" became a meme, 🅾️ stands in for the letter O |
| 💹 | Chart with yen | 株価 (kabuka) | Rising stock price, in yen | Stock market, growth |
| 💱 | Currency exchange | 両替 (ryōgae) | Dollar to yen | Exchange, travel |
| 💽 | MiniDisc | ミニディスク (minidisuku) | Sony format, a cult object in Japan, almost unknown elsewhere | Taken for a DVD, a hard drive, a floppy |
| 📼 | VHS tape | ビデオテープ (bideo tēpu) | The original pictograms date from 1999 | Retro, nostalgia |
| 📟 | Pager | ポケベル (pokeberu) | The direct ancestor of emoji | Almost forgotten object |
| 👯 | Bunny girls | バニーガール (banī gāru) | Club hostesses with bunny ears, SoftBank set | Girls' night out, dancing, "twins" |
| 💩 | Poop | うんち (unchi) | Smiling Japanese-style poop (golden poop, a lucky charm), SoftBank set | Rubbish, funny, friendly insult |
| 🌃 | Night with stars | 夜景 (yakei) | Tokyo skyline at night | City at night, going out |
| 💢 💦 💤 💫 | Manga marks | 漫符 (manpu) | Graphic manga symbols (anger, sweat, sleep, dizziness) | Read literally or hijacked (💦 as innuendo) |
| ❤️ 💔 ☀️ ☁️ ☂️ ⛄ | Kurita's pictograms | 絵文字 (emoji) | Part of the 176 originals of 1999 | Universal, nobody knows they're Japanese |
Did you know? The 🏨 with its big "H" and the horizontal 🚥 are the two emoji non-Japanese people find "weird" without knowing why: they are Japanese road signs that went into Unicode as they were.
To finish
The emoji keyboard is not a universal language that fell from the sky: it's a Japanese object the world adopted without reading it. Every 🍡 sent from Lyon or Lima carries a bit of Tokyo 1999. Once you know that, you never look at your phone the same way again, nor at the signs in the street.