What are the V fingers meaning?

[hadron]

this is nothing serious but i am curious

i have seen many photos and videos of japanesse girls (not sure about boys), where they actually put their hand up with both first and second finger stood up in a shape of letter V.

something like this
http://thewondrous.com/wp-content/up...83-600x901.jpg

i just wanted to know what does it mean. is it like a greeting or does it have any deeper meaning? or is it just like saying: "hello I am here and I am cool" :P you know, girls from where i come don't do that :P

[Koir]

Originally Posted by hadron

this is nothing serious but i am curious

i have seen many photos and videos of japanesse girls (not sure about boys), where they actually put their hand up with both first and second finger stood up in a shape of letter V.

something like this
http://thewondrous.com/wp-content/up...83-600x901.jpg

i just wanted to know what does it mean. is it like a greeting or does it have any deeper meaning? or is it just like saying: "hello I am here and I am cool" :P you know, girls from where i come don't do that :P

It's a peace sign. I believe the practice of making the gesture in pictures was started by a Japanese female Olympic figure skater who did it to promote the message of peace (the v sign is close to the shape of a dove's clawprint).

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by Koir

It's a peace sign. I believe the practice of making the gesture in pictures was started by a Japanese female Olympic figure skater who did it to promote the message of peace (the v sign is close to the shape of a dove's clawprint).

Yup, although in some countries the same gesture with the back of the hand facing out (like the girl on the left) is considered a rude gesture. What a crazy crazy world we live in.

[Koir]

Originally Posted by Columbine

Yup, although in some countries the same gesture with the back of the hand facing out (like the girl on the left) is considered a rude gesture. What a crazy crazy world we live in.

Thus exposing the fact I didn't click the link. Stupid, stupid me

[sarasi]

It's a peace sign as above, although I have never heard of it being supposed to look like a dove's foot and doubt that that is the origin. Basically people do it now because it is just what you do in photographs, it's become a tradition, and everyone from 2 year-olds to grandmothers does it these days, although it's mostly associated with high school girls.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about its use in Japan:

One account of the V sign's use in portrait photographs claims that during the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Hokkaidō figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only third in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.[25] According to another theory, the V sign was popularized by the actor and singer Jun Inoue, who showed it in a Konica photo camera commercial in 1972. Japanese may also be associating with their onomatopoeia (gitaigo) for smiling. The number "two" is "ni" in Japanese, and the onomatopoeia for smiling generally begins with the sound "ni-", such as "niko niko" or "niya niya."

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by sarasi

It's a peace sign as above, although I have never heard of it being supposed to look like a dove's foot and doubt that that is the origin. Basically people do it now because it is just what you do in photographs, it's become a tradition, and everyone from 2 year-olds to grandmothers does it these days, although it's mostly associated with high school girls.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about its use in Japan:

One account of the V sign's use in portrait photographs claims that during the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Hokkaidō figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only third in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.[25] According to another theory, the V sign was popularized by the actor and singer Jun Inoue, who showed it in a Konica photo camera commercial in 1972. Japanese may also be associating with their onomatopoeia (gitaigo) for smiling. The number "two" is "ni" in Japanese, and the onomatopoeia for smiling generally begins with the sound "ni-", such as "niko niko" or "niya niya."

It did not say it in your quote there, but when the Allies used it the V stood for "victory".

[Klint]

YouTube - Japan Interviews - #2 - Peace Sign!!

[Tsuwabuki]

My students told me it was V for Victory when I asked after moving to Japan. Like a nonverbal ganbatte! I'm sure for different people, they have come upon via the different ways mentioned above.

[MMM]

Most of the time is joined with the phrase "Peace" (instead of "cheese").

[Tsuwabuki]

I always get my students to say "Map" for pictures, because of the similarity of Chizu and Chiizu.