🙏
https://gyazo.com/6a9d67f6ed2ce9c89e3824ff7bdb31ba
Vendor: au by KDDI / Version: Type D-3 / 2005
https://gyazo.com/aa2d06c240e5a3e96450744c5dbf86ad
Vendor: au by KDDI / Version: Type D-1 / 2003
https://gyazo.com/541f6451dafa33a9d9ec4c0e4a460b72
Unicode Character 'Person with Folded Hands' (U+1F64F)
Proposed in L2/09-026 (2009)
https://gyazo.com/b195e60c99d40eddc2f7d70e1e3571f8
Discovering Japan.icon
The "🙏" emoji, often used to express gratitude, respect, or a request for a favor in digital communication, has a particular significance in Japanese culture. It resembles the gesture of putting one's palms together in front of their face or chest, known as "gassho"(gassho) in Japanese. deeply rooted in Buddhist practices, commonly observed in Japan, where it is used during prayer and meditation to show reverence and humility. In Japan, the gassho pose is not limited to religious contexts. It is also a common way to greet someone, express gratitude, apologize, or request something politely. The action conveys respect and sincerity without the need for words. When used in social interactions, it demonstrates a depth of emotion and consideration for the other person, embodying a sense of mindfulness and respect that is central to Japanese etiquette.
The "🙏" emoji, therefore, can carry various meanings depending on the context, from a simple thank you or please to a deeper expression of apology or heartfelt request, reflecting its cultural roots in Japan's traditions of respect and humility.
nishio.icon
It called :pray: in Slack and many services. As a native Japanese, I feel IWAKAN. I feel it's a bit odd to call this emoji a "pray." This emoji is used to express thanks when someone teaches me something, or to say sorry for a mistake and thank you for pointing it out. With the increasing use of the 🙇 emoji for apologies, the 🙏 emoji is more often used to express gratitude. Some people says it is "high five emoji." I'm tolerant of people from cultures where high-fiving is common using this emoji to represent that action. But I feel that ignoring historical facts and calling this a high-five emoji is an act of cultural invasion. You can *use* it as high-five emoji in your small community, but it *is not* high-five emoji in the international standard, it *is* folded hands emoji. Detailed explanation about the issue: Emojiology: 🙏 Folded Hands en.icon
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This page is auto-translated from /nishio/🙏 using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I'm very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.