Japanese for 'picture character' (e = picture, moji = character) — nothing to do with English 'emotion,' despite the coincidence.
A small digital image or icon used in electronic communication to express an idea, emotion, or concept.
From Japanese '絵文字' (emoji), a compound of '絵' (e, picture) and '文字' (moji, character/letter). Created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1999 while working at the Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo. Kurita designed the original set of 176 emoji (each just 12×12 pixels) for the i-mode mobile internet platform, drawing inspiration from manga, kanji, and weather forecast symbols. The resemblance to English
The word 'emoji' looks like it comes from 'emotion' — but it doesn't. It is pure Japanese: 絵 (e, picture) + 文字 (moji, character). The resemblance to 'emotion' and 'emoticon' is a complete coincidence, though it is so perfect that it probably helped English speakers adopt the word. The original 176 emoji, designed by Shigetaka Kurita in 1999, were each only 12×12 pixels and included