are
ideograms and
smileys used in electronic messages and
Web pages. The characters, which are used much like
ASCII emoticons or
kaomojis, exist in various genres, including facial expressions, common objects, places and types of weather, and animals. Some emoji are very specific to Japanese culture, such as a
bowing businessman, a face wearing a
face mask, a white flower used to denote "brilliant homework", or a group of emoji representing popular foods:
ramen noodles,
dango,
onigiri,
Japanese curry, and
sushi.
