Paper short abstract:

Do Japanese emoji make possible global language or instead make national differences more apparent? Using examples of narrative communication from text messages to literature, I explore how emoji have led to both playful ways of expressing sensitive topics and dangerous cultural misunderstandings.

Paper long abstract:

Especially after a standard set of Unicode emoji was made available on iPhones in 2011, these instantly recognizable yellow faces, holiday symbols, and other icons have globalized and have been put to originally unintended uses. Cellphones, blogging platforms, and social media have mainstreamed emoji, which require Japanese cultural knowledge to be understood. Various media have been playfully created out of and "translated" into emoji. Realizing emoji's commercial potential, at least thirteen American celebrities have sold their own emoji, starting with Kim Kardashian's racy Kimoji (2015). When Japan's Prime Minster Abe Shinzō visited the United States in 2015, President Obama thanked him for emoji, demonstrating the political role of popular culture and how transnational fandoms construct national images. The Oxford English Dictionary chose the "crying with joy" emoji as the top English "word" of 2015. Emoji have been used to encourage people around the world to "do things," from read books to vote. Arguably, many people do not realize emoji are from Japan. What kind of cultural literary does emoji exemplify? Do they make possible global language that transcends nations or instead make national differences more apparent? How do emoji influence how Japan is viewed abroad?

I argue that emoji provide insight into one form of Japanese culture that easily globalizes and is incorporated into local contexts: that which is grounded in Japan but understandable across nations. On one hand, emoji exemplify conventions of Japanese cellphone and Internet use, including access patterns, visual languages, gender conceptions, and corporate tie-ins. Japanese authors have helped determine how many emoticons are enough in text messages, literary narratives, and other communicative forms. On the other hand, emoji exemplify how Japanese popular culture is changing global communication. While internationally misappropriated emoji have led to playful ways to express sensitive topics, they have incited potentially dangerous misunderstandings of Japan. I explore case studies from different types of narrative communication, from texts messages to literature, to investigate how emoji have advanced multiculturalism but perpetuated cultural stereotypes. Do emoji ultimately reaffirm the enduring importance of the written word in the age of visual narratives?