In the first episode of the Zatoichi series there is a scarecrow whose face is drawn using various hiragana.
When I seen it it occurred to me that I've seen that done somewhere else before.
Is there a story behind this hiragana face ?
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2Another example: In Naruto series, what is the symbol on Kakashi's ninja dogs' backs?– Andrew T.Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 4:11
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1 Answer
It sounds like you are referring to Henohenomoheji (へのへのもへじ). It is sometimes used on Japanese scarecrows (かかし) and teru teru bōzu (てるてる坊主) dolls. The name refers to the Hiragana characters used to create the face.
According to the Japanese Wikipedia article, the exact origins are unknown, although it has apparently not been seen earlier than the Edo period.
