Ask John: What is Henohenomoheji?

Question:
In my experiences with anime, I’ve seen a lot of instances of a face drawn using japanese hiragana. The eyebrows are “he,” the eyes are “no,” the nose is “mo,” the mouth is another “he” and the face is drawn using “shi.” What’s the significance of this face? Why does it pop up everywhere?

Answer:
The face you’re referring to is known as “henohenomoheji,” a combination of the seven hiragana characters that it consists of. While it seems quite unusual, and would seem to have some sort of mythical or religious significance, it actually doesn’t. It’s not known exactly when the henohenomoheji design dates back to, (it’s at least 100+ years old) but it’s generally agreed upon that it originated as a simple way to teach children hiragana. The design is commonly used as the face for Japanese scarecrows. It’s also often used as the face on “teruterubozu,” the white cloth or paper dolls children make and hang from windows to pray for good weather. In simple terms, the henohenomoheji is the Japanese equivalent to the Western yellow and black “smiley face.”

The henohenomoheji appears in anime in at least the Cream Lemon special episode Impressions of Europa, in which a mysterious magic carpet driver with a henohenomoheji face sexually preys on the nubile young protagonist.