522


Every one of Kakashi's ninja dogs has a symbol on its back that looks like a
face:

![Pakkun and the symbol on his back](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XPpIq.jpg)

**What is this symbol and what is its meaning?**


CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-16T00:01:58.727
521
2016-06-01T00:22:22.433
2015-05-08T20:31:41.123
11083
49
question
naruto symbolism
What is the symbol on Kakashi's ninja dogs' backs?


It's a pretty interesting explanation... In this wiki for
[Ninken](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Ninken) (Ninja dogs):

> They all have a face-shaped design on their backs called **Henohenomoheji**
> (へのへのもへじ) — which is the sound made when all the characters in the face are
> put together. Appropriately enough, children use this design as the face for
> their scarecrows, which is _"kakashi"_ in Japanese.

Basically, if you consider the picture you included:

  * The **eyebrows** are the Hiragana へ (he);
  * The **eyes** are the Hiragana の (no);
  * The **nose** is the Hiragana も (mo);
  * The **mouth** is another へ (he);
  * The **head shape** (kind of distorted) is the Hiragana じ (ji).

So, へのへのもへじ (henohenomoheji). The first "heno" is repeated because you have a
pair of eyes and eyebrows.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-16T00:14:19.950
522
2012-12-16T10:35:52.443
2012-12-16T10:35:52.443
15
15
521
answer