Quote:
Originally Posted by sarasi
It's a peace sign as above, although I have never heard of it being supposed to look like a dove's foot and doubt that that is the origin. Basically people do it now because it is just what you do in photographs, it's become a tradition, and everyone from 2 year-olds to grandmothers does it these days, although it's mostly associated with high school girls.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about its use in Japan:
One account of the V sign's use in portrait photographs claims that during the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Hokkaidō figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only third in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.[25] According to another theory, the V sign was popularized by the actor and singer Jun Inoue, who showed it in a Konica photo camera commercial in 1972. Japanese may also be associating with their onomatopoeia (gitaigo) for smiling. The number "two" is "ni" in Japanese, and the onomatopoeia for smiling generally begins with the sound "ni-", such as "niko niko" or "niya niya."
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It did not say it in your quote there, but when the Allies used it the V stood for "victory".