Reference mark

Read the note or condition it points to. A Japanese notice may place ※ before an exception, a condition, or a supplementary explanation, and official style guidance also uses it before headings meant to stand out. The name means “rice mark” because the sign resembles 米, the kanji (Chinese-derived character) for rice.

Look beside the statement or on the next line, not only at the foot of the page: the note can follow the marked text directly. If ※ sits under a tempting offer, read its line before believing the headline.

Korea calls it the pool-hall mark

Korean has a formal name, chamgopyo (참고표, “reference mark”), and a nickname, danggujangpyo (당구장표, “pool-hall mark”), from its use on billiard-hall signs. In an ordinary document it still just means “see the note.” Chinese writing uses the mark less often than Japanese.

The resemblance to 米 explains the Japanese name, not the sign's ancestry, and the English asterisk is a counterpart in function rather than a known ancestor.