What ︹ means
It marks the opening edge of a bracketed passage in vertical text.
The Japanese kikkō (tortoise-shell) pair 〔〕 can set off a translator’s or editor’s note; Chinese punctuation guidance also uses it for annotations.
Japanese print history includes a practical question from the Meiji period: studies of movable-type books examine how bracket forms were made for print after letterpress arrived. Japanese layout guidance treats 〔〕 as the vertical counterpart to square brackets ［］ used in horizontal text.
Why does ︹ look wrong in my text?
It is a vertical presentation form, not a switch that turns text vertical.
FE39 stores a vertical presentation of 〔. In a horizontal line, a font may show it upright or at an unexpected angle. For routine Japanese vertical text, layout guidance recommends using ordinary square brackets with vertical-writing rules.
If the saved character changes, check for NFKC or NFKD normalization. Those forms remove compatibility distinctions, and Unicode maps FE39 to 〔; the stored character can change even when the passage still reads similarly.
Formal punctuation associated with vertical East Asian editorial composition.
On its own, it leaves the bracket open; pair it with text and ︺.
Don't confuse it with
1Questions people ask
2Why did ︹ become 〔 after I saved it?
It was likely normalized. NFKC and NFKD remove compatibility distinctions, and Unicode maps FE39 to the base bracket 〔.
Can ︹ replace a normal square bracket?
Usually, no. It is a vertical presentation form; for ordinary horizontal Japanese text, use ［］ unless the exact FE39 character is required.
How to type ︹
︹\FE39Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.