Sesame dot emphasis

Dots instead of italics.

Also known as: Bōten, Emphasis dots

In Japanese:: 圏点
In Japanese (Latin):: Kenten

CulturalKeyboard & punctuationStandard profile

Meanings

The Japanese convention marking emphasis with small dots beside the characters.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Marks the characters beside it as emphasised.
Contexts: Language and transcription
Officially standardisedVerified fact
Japanese has no italic form, because the characters are not written with a slanted variant, so emphasis had to be added alongside the text rather than by changing it.
Contexts: Language and transcription

Visual description

Small dots or sesame-seed shapes set above each character in horizontal text or to the right of each in vertical text.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

East Asian typography, punctuation and reading marks
The Unicode Consortium and East Asian typographic standards bodies · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity, encoded form and typographic behaviour of East Asian punctuation and reading marks. Layout requirements differ between Chinese, Japanese and Korean practice and a record names the tradition it describes.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27

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Meanings

The Japanese convention marking emphasis with small dots beside the characters.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Marks the characters beside it as emphasised.

Contexts: Language and transcription

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Japanese has no italic form, because the characters are not written with a slanted variant, so emphasis had to be added alongside the text rather than by changing it.

Contexts: Language and transcription

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

East Asian typography, punctuation and reading marks
The Unicode Consortium and East Asian typographic standards bodies · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity, encoded form and typographic behaviour of East Asian punctuation and reading marks. Layout requirements differ between Chinese, Japanese and Korean practice and a record names the tradition it describes.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27