shoshinsha mark

{{Short description|Japanese symbol for beginner drivers}}

File:Wakaba mark.svg

File:SUZUKI_ALTO_LAPIN_Chocolat_(HE22S)_rear.JPG]]

The {{Nihongo|shoshinsha mark|初心者マーク}} or {{nihongo|Wakaba mark|若葉マーク}}, officially {{Nihongo|Beginner Drivers' Sign|初心運転者標識|Shoshin Untensha Hyōshiki}}, is a green and yellow V-shaped symbol that beginner drivers in Japan must display at the designated places at the front and the rear of their cars for one year after they obtain a standard driver's license. Drivers who consider themselves beginners may continue to display the sign, even after the period of a year.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405220726/https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/kotsu/mark/mark.html|archive-date=April 5, 2016|url=https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/kotsu/mark/mark.html|title=自動車の運転者が表示する標識（マーク）について|publisher=警視庁 (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department)|access-date=August 8, 2018}} Like the orange and yellow "fukushi mark" or "kōreisha mark" that denotes elderly drivers, the shoshinsha mark is designed to warn other drivers that the marked driver is not very skilled, either due to inexperience or old age.{{cite web|url=https://www.citylab.com/solutions/2016/07/how-japan-saves-lives-with-driver-decals/490484/|title=How Japan Saves Lives With Driver Decals|department=CityLab|work=The Atlantic|last=Kirk|first=Mimi|date=July 8, 2016|access-date=August 8, 2018}}

In Japan the shoshinsha mark is also used beyond the driving context to indicate beginner status. In Tochigi, for example, new mothers are issued a card with the mark on it to indicate their experience level to health and child care support staff.{{cite web|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL7566K3L75UUHB008.html|title=初育児の支援カード、提示で職員対応　栃木市|work=Asahi Shimbun|last=平井|first=隆昭|date=July 18, 2018|access-date=August 8, 2018}} New employees of companies may also have the mark on their name badges until they become more experienced.{{cite news|url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20180402/ddl/k40/020/231000c|title=「選ばれる井筒屋に」新入社員１７人が決意|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=April 2, 2018|access-date=August 8, 2018}} In video games, it is associated with tutorials and new players.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014152625/https://www.vgfacts.com/trivia/7844/|archive-date=October 14, 2014|url=https://www.vgfacts.com/trivia/7844/|title=Kirby Super Star - Game - View Single Trivia - VGFacts|publisher=www.vgfacts.com|access-date=March 1, 2024}} In the anime Sgt. Frog, the character Tamama has a mirrored shoshinsha mark on his hat and stomach.{{cite web|url=http://sunrise-inc.co.jp/keroro/character/index.html|title=ケロロ軍曹であります。|publisher=Sunrise Inc.}}

Georgists have begun using the symbol as an online identifier on Twitter due to its resemblance to a shield.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/12/business/georgism-land-tax-housing.html|title=The ‘Georgists’ Are Out There, and They Want to Tax Your Land|work=The New York Times|last=Dougherty|first=Conor|date=November 11, 2023|access-date=November 12, 2023}}

The mark is represented in Unicode as U+1F530 (🔰), as part of the Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block.