Using mb_send_mail() to Send Encoded Emails in PHP

The mb_send_mail() function sends an email with encoding handled according to the current mb_language() setting, acting as a wrapper for the native mail() function.

Parameters

to : Recipient email address(es), comma‑separated; not automatically encoded.

subject : Email subject line.

message : Email body content.

additional_headers (optional) : String appended to the email header.

additional_parameter (optional) : MTA command‑line parameter, useful for setting a correct return‑path when using sendmail.

Return value

Returns TRUE on success, FALSE on failure.

Example implementation

<?php
/**
 * @name    : sendMail
 * @author  : Taslim Mazumder Sohel
 * @mail    : [email protected]
 * Function for sending email with Japanese body, subject, and sender name.
 */
function sendMail($to, $subject, $body, $from_email, $from_name)
{
    $headers = "MIME-Version: 1.0 
";
    $headers .= "From: " . mb_encode_mimeheader(mb_convert_encoding($from_name, "ISO-2022-JP", "AUTO")) . " <$from_email> 
";
    $headers .= "Reply-To: " . mb_encode_mimeheader(mb_convert_encoding($from_name, "ISO-2022-JP", "AUTO")) . " <$from_email> 
";
    $headers .= "Content-Type: text/plain;charset=ISO-2022-JP 
";
    $body = mb_convert_encoding($body, "ISO-2022-JP", "AUTO");
    $sendmail_params = "-f$from_email";
    mb_language("ja");
    $subject = mb_encode_mimeheader(mb_convert_encoding($subject, "ISO-2022-JP", "AUTO"));
    $result = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers, $sendmail_params);
    return $result;
}
?>

The example sets MIME version, constructs proper From and Reply-To headers with encoded sender name, defines the content type as ISO‑2022‑JP, converts the body and subject to the same encoding, sets the language to Japanese, and finally calls mail() with optional sendmail parameters.

Note: In production, using a third‑party mailing service is often more convenient.