''Henohenomoheji'' ( ja, へのへのもへじ ) or ''hehenonomoheji'' () is a face known to be drawn by

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

schoolchildren using

hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

characters. It became a popular drawing during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

. The word breaks down into seven

characters: ''he'' (), ''no'' (), ''he'' (), ''no'' (), ''mo'' (), ''he'' (), and ''ji'' (). The first two ''he'' are the

eyebrow An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, communication through facial expression, and second, preven ...

s, the two ''no'' are the eyes, the ''mo'' is a

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes ...

, and the last ''he'' is the mouth. The outline of the face is made by the character ''ji'', its two short strokes (''

dakuten The , colloquially , is a diacritic most often used in the Japanese kana syllabaries to indicate that the consonant of a syllable should be pronounced voiced, for instance, on sounds that have undergone rendaku (sequential voicing). The , ...

'') forming the

ear An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...

cheek The cheeks ( la, buccae) constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the insi ...

. Henohenomoheji is often used to symbolize a nondescript or generic human face, such as the faces of ''kakashi'' (

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...

s) and

teru teru bōzu A is a small traditional handmade that originated from the Edo period in Japan, made from white paper or cloth, Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This talisman is supposed to have magical powers to bring good ...

. The characters are often sung as they are drawn, making the an . File:Henohenomoheji graffiti Oct 04 2020 02-52PM.jpeg , As a

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

へのへのもへ (19559421992).jpg , On a Face of Japanese scarecrow.jpg , On a scarecrow File:MET 10 211 1816 d.jpg , An early example as a detail on a from the 19th century

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* Japanese word games Doodling motifs {{game-stub

See also

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External links