Ask John: What’s the Purpose of Symbols on Characters’ Foreheads?

Question:
Is there a reason why anime and manga often feature female characters with markings on their foreheads? Examples from the top of my head are Belldandy from “Ah, My Goddess” and Miharu from “Girls Bravo.” Where did this trend come from? I’ve heard some say this is because statues of Buddha in Asia often have a dot in the center of the forehead, but Buddha is attributed as being male. If this character design practice is indeed Buddhist-inspired, why is it almost exclusively female characters that sport forehead markings?

Answer:
To keep my answer brief but informative, allow me to concisely explain that in Hindu belief, the dot on the forehead, known as “bindu,” “bindi,” and “tilaka,” (among numerous names) signifies the focal point of wisdom and spirituality. In Buddhism, the dot on the Buddha’s forehead is called “urna” and represents the mystical third eye that sees truth and divinity. The bindi is associated with both men and women, and in some cultures worn exclusively by married women. In Buddhism, the urna is associated with the male Buddha, but can also apply to anyone that approaches the divine state of bodhisattva.

In the 1986 OVA Chojiku Romanesque Samy Missing 99, which merges a loose inspiration from Hindu religion with conventional sci-fi anime themes, protagonist Samy doesn’t initially have a mark on her forehead, but as she evolves into a dimensional warrior, then into a bodhisattva, she a symbol does develop between her eyelashes. In the 1989 Tenku Senki Shurato anime television series based on Hindu mythology, the male character Karura-Oh Reiga has a bindu, although other characters in the program don’t.

However, the goddesses of Ah! My Goddess, which premiered in print in 1988 and premiered in anime form in 1993, have noticeable adornments on their foreheads that seem to be at least somewhat related to the use of their divine powers, but these goddesses were inspired by Norse, not Hindu, myth. And more recently, female characters with an icon or symbol on their forehead, such as Miharu of Girls Bravo and Princess Rita of Sisters of Wellber, don’t seem to exhibit any sort of spirituality. For these characters, the symbol on their forehead is either a sign of nobility, or a mere decoration.

I must admit that I haven’t researched this subject thoroughly enough to confidently argue that the imagery of a symbol on the forehead of an anime character originated as a reference to Hindu and Buddhist spirituality, but I do think that’s a plausible possibility. And the earliest examples of anime characters with a symbol on their foreheads that I know of are direct references to Hindu belief. But more recent examples seem to be distancing themselves from religious roots and becoming a simple form of decoration used to establish a character’s unique appearance.