diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 9b2c54d1..03e05847 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -326,6 +326,11 @@ PKG_CHECK_MODULES([OPENSSL], [openssl], [
 	])
 ])
 
+dnl **
+dnl ** utf8proc
+dnl **
+AC_CHECK_LIB([utf8proc], [utf8proc_version])
+
 dnl **
 dnl ** curses checks
 dnl **
@@ -815,7 +820,7 @@ echo "Building with 64bit DCC support .. : $offt_64bit"
 echo "Building with true color support.. : $want_truecolor"
 echo "Building with GRegex ............. : $want_gregex"
 echo "Building with Capsicum ........... : $want_capsicum"
-
+echo "Building with utf8proc ........... : $ac_cv_lib_utf8proc_utf8proc_version"
 if test "x$want_otr" = "xstatic"; then
 	echo "Building with OTR support ........ : static (in irssi binary)"
 elif test "x$want_otr" = "xmodule"; then
diff --git a/src/common.h b/src/common.h
index de29abd5..8d4da02f 100644
--- a/src/common.h
+++ b/src/common.h
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #define IRSSI_GLOBAL_CONFIG "irssi.conf" /* config file name in /etc/ */
 #define IRSSI_HOME_CONFIG "config" /* config file name in ~/.irssi/ */
 
-#define IRSSI_ABI_VERSION 16
+#define IRSSI_ABI_VERSION 17
 
 #define DEFAULT_SERVER_ADD_PORT 6667
 #define DEFAULT_SERVER_ADD_TLS_PORT 6697
diff --git a/src/core/Makefile.am b/src/core/Makefile.am
index f64d9e2e..4cc2226c 100644
--- a/src/core/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/core/Makefile.am
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ libcore_a_SOURCES = \
 	utf8.c \
 	$(regex_impl) \
 	wcwidth.c \
+	wcwidth-wrapper.c \
 	tls.c \
 	write-buffer.c
 
diff --git a/src/core/core.c b/src/core/core.c
index 506d6a13..3c335fd2 100644
--- a/src/core/core.c
+++ b/src/core/core.c
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ void chat_commands_deinit(void);
 void log_away_init(void);
 void log_away_deinit(void);
 
+void wcwidth_wrapper_init(void);
+void wcwidth_wrapper_deinit(void);
+
 int irssi_gui;
 int irssi_init_finished;
 int reload_config;
@@ -258,6 +261,7 @@ void core_init(void)
 	nicklist_init();
 
 	chat_commands_init();
+	wcwidth_wrapper_init();
 
 	settings_add_str("misc", "ignore_signals", "");
 	settings_add_bool("misc", "override_coredump_limit", FALSE);
@@ -281,6 +285,7 @@ void core_deinit(void)
 	signal_remove("setup changed", (SIGNAL_FUNC) read_settings);
 	signal_remove("irssi init finished", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sig_irssi_init_finished);
 
+	wcwidth_wrapper_deinit();
 	chat_commands_deinit();
 
 	nicklist_deinit();
diff --git a/src/core/utf8.c b/src/core/utf8.c
index c53d8816..c44fdbd6 100644
--- a/src/core/utf8.c
+++ b/src/core/utf8.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ int string_advance(char const **str, int policy)
 		c = g_utf8_get_char(*str);
 		*str = g_utf8_next_char(*str);
 
-		return unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+		return unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 	} else {
 		/* Assume TREAT_STRING_AS_BYTES: */
 		*str += 1;
diff --git a/src/core/utf8.h b/src/core/utf8.h
index 5bb53193..9f7d1aaa 100644
--- a/src/core/utf8.h
+++ b/src/core/utf8.h
@@ -12,8 +12,14 @@
 typedef guint32 unichar;
 
 /* Returns width for character (0-2). */
+int i_wcwidth(unichar c);
+
+/* Older variant of the above */
 int mk_wcwidth(unichar c);
 
+/* Signature for wcwidth implementations */
+typedef int (*WCWIDTH_FUNC) (unichar ucs);
+
 /* Advance the str pointer one character further; return the number of columns
  * occupied by the skipped character.
  */
diff --git a/src/core/wcwidth-wrapper.c b/src/core/wcwidth-wrapper.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..03d0dc0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/wcwidth-wrapper.c
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+/*
+ wcwidth-wrapper.c : irssi
+
+    Copyright (C) 2018 dequis
+
+    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+    with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+    51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+*/
+
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
+#include <wchar.h>
+
+#include "module.h"
+#include "signals.h"
+#include "settings.h"
+#include "utf8.h"
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBUTF8PROC
+#include <utf8proc.h>
+#endif
+
+/* wcwidth=2 since unicode 5.2.0 */
+#define UNICODE_SQUARE_HIRAGANA_HOKA 0x1F200
+
+/* wcwidth=2 since unicode 9.0.0 */
+#define UNICODE_IRSSI_LOGO 0x1F525
+
+enum {
+	WCWIDTH_IMPL_OLD,
+	WCWIDTH_IMPL_SYSTEM
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBUTF8PROC
+	,WCWIDTH_IMPL_JULIA
+#endif
+};
+
+WCWIDTH_FUNC wcwidth_impl_func = mk_wcwidth;
+
+int i_wcwidth(unichar ucs)
+{
+	return (*wcwidth_impl_func)(ucs);
+}
+
+static int system_wcwidth(unichar ucs)
+{
+	int retval = wcwidth((wchar_t) ucs);
+
+	if (retval < 0) {
+		/* Treat all unknown characters as taking one cell. This is
+		 * the reason mk_wcwidth and other outdated implementations
+		 * mostly worked with newer unicode, while glibc's wcwidth
+		 * needs updating to recognize new characters.
+		 *
+		 * Instead of relying on that, we keep the behavior of assuming
+		 * one cell even for glibc's implementation, which is still
+		 * highly accurate and less of a headache overall.
+		 */
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	return retval;
+}
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBUTF8PROC
+/* wrapper because the function signatures are different
+ * (the parameter is unsigned for us, signed for them) */
+static int julia_wcwidth(unichar ucs)
+{
+	return utf8proc_charwidth(ucs);
+}
+#endif
+
+static void read_settings(void)
+{
+	static int choice = -1;
+	int newchoice;
+
+	newchoice = settings_get_choice("wcwidth_implementation");
+
+	if (choice == newchoice) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	choice = newchoice;
+
+	switch (choice) {
+	case WCWIDTH_IMPL_OLD:
+		wcwidth_impl_func = &mk_wcwidth;
+		break;
+
+	case WCWIDTH_IMPL_SYSTEM:
+		wcwidth_impl_func = &system_wcwidth;
+		break;
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBUTF8PROC
+	case WCWIDTH_IMPL_JULIA:
+		wcwidth_impl_func = &julia_wcwidth;
+		break;
+#endif
+	}
+
+}
+
+void wcwidth_wrapper_init(void)
+{
+	int wcwidth_impl_default = 0;
+	/* Test against characters that have wcwidth=2
+	 * since unicode 5.2 and 9.0 respectively */
+
+	if (system_wcwidth(UNICODE_SQUARE_HIRAGANA_HOKA) == 2 ||
+	    system_wcwidth(UNICODE_IRSSI_LOGO) == 2) {
+		wcwidth_impl_default = WCWIDTH_IMPL_SYSTEM;
+	} else {
+		/* Fall back to our own (which implements 5.0) */
+		wcwidth_impl_default = WCWIDTH_IMPL_OLD;
+	}
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBUTF8PROC
+	settings_add_choice("misc", "wcwidth_implementation", wcwidth_impl_default, "old;system;julia");
+#else
+	settings_add_choice("misc", "wcwidth_implementation", wcwidth_impl_default, "old;system");
+#endif
+
+	read_settings();
+	signal_add_first("setup changed", (SIGNAL_FUNC) read_settings);
+}
+
+void wcwidth_wrapper_deinit(void)
+{
+	signal_remove("setup changed", (SIGNAL_FUNC) read_settings);
+}
diff --git a/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c b/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c
index 52a39969..b3c73c15 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ static unichar i_tolower(unichar c)
 static int i_isalnum(unichar c)
 {
 	if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_UTF8)
-		return (g_unichar_isalnum(c) || mk_wcwidth(c) == 0);
+		return (g_unichar_isalnum(c) || i_wcwidth(c) == 0);
 	return c <= 255 ? isalnum(c) : 0;
 }
 
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ static int pos2scrpos(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos, int cursor)
 		if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_BIG5)
 			xpos += big5_width(c);
 		else if (entry->utf8)
-			xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+			xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 		else
 			xpos++;
 
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ static int scrpos2pos(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos)
 		if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_BIG5)
 			width = big5_width(c);
 		else if (entry->utf8)
-			width = unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+			width = unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 		else
 			width = 1;
 
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ static void gui_entry_draw_from(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos)
 		else if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_BIG5)
 			new_xpos += big5_width(c);
 		else if (entry->utf8)
-			new_xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+			new_xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 		else
 			new_xpos++;
 
@@ -647,7 +647,7 @@ void gui_entry_insert_char(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, unichar chr)
 	if (chr == 0 || chr == 13 || chr == 10)
 		return; /* never insert NUL, CR or LF characters */
 
-	if (entry->utf8 && entry->pos == 0 && mk_wcwidth(chr) == 0)
+	if (entry->utf8 && entry->pos == 0 && i_wcwidth(chr) == 0)
 		return;
 
 	gui_entry_redraw_from(entry, entry->pos);
@@ -829,7 +829,7 @@ void gui_entry_erase(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int size, CUTBUFFER_UPDATE_OP update_
 
 	if (entry->utf8)
 		while (entry->pos-size-w > 0 &&
-		       mk_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos-size-w]) == 0) w++;
+		       i_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos-size-w]) == 0) w++;
 
 	g_memmove(entry->text + entry->pos - size, entry->text + entry->pos,
 		  (entry->text_len-entry->pos+1) * sizeof(unichar));
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ void gui_entry_erase_cell(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry)
 
 	if (entry->utf8)
 		while (entry->pos+size < entry->text_len &&
-		       mk_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos+size]) == 0) size++;
+		       i_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos+size]) == 0) size++;
 
 	g_memmove(entry->text + entry->pos, entry->text + entry->pos + size,
 	          (entry->text_len-entry->pos-size+1) * sizeof(unichar));
@@ -1188,7 +1188,7 @@ void gui_entry_move_pos(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos)
 
 	if (entry->utf8) {
 		int step = pos < 0 ? -1 : 1;
-		while(mk_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos]) == 0 &&
+		while(i_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos]) == 0 &&
 		      entry->pos + step >= 0 && entry->pos + step <= entry->text_len)
 			entry->pos += step;
 	}
diff --git a/src/fe-text/gui-windows.c b/src/fe-text/gui-windows.c
index f761e390..e7f799c8 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/gui-windows.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/gui-windows.c
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #include "gui-printtext.h"
 
 static int window_create_override;
+static int wcwidth_impl;
 
 static GUI_WINDOW_REC *gui_window_init(WINDOW_REC *window,
 				       MAIN_WINDOW_REC *parent)
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ static GUI_WINDOW_REC *gui_window_init(WINDOW_REC *window,
 					   !settings_get_bool("indent_always"),
 					   get_default_indent_func());
 	textbuffer_view_set_break_wide(gui->view, settings_get_bool("break_wide"));
+	wcwidth_impl = settings_get_choice("wcwidth_implementation");
 	textbuffer_view_set_hidden_level(gui->view, MSGLEVEL_HIDDEN);
 	if (parent->active == window)
 		textbuffer_view_set_window(gui->view, parent->screen_win);
@@ -202,11 +204,18 @@ void gui_window_reparent(WINDOW_REC *window, MAIN_WINDOW_REC *parent)
 void gui_windows_reset_settings(void)
 {
 	GSList *tmp;
+	int old_wcwidth_impl = wcwidth_impl;
+
+	wcwidth_impl = settings_get_choice("wcwidth_implementation");
 
 	for (tmp = windows; tmp != NULL; tmp = tmp->next) {
 		WINDOW_REC *rec = tmp->data;
 		GUI_WINDOW_REC *gui = WINDOW_GUI(rec);
 
+		if (old_wcwidth_impl != wcwidth_impl) {
+			textbuffer_view_reset_cache(gui->view);
+		}
+
 		textbuffer_view_set_break_wide(gui->view, settings_get_bool("break_wide"));
 
 		textbuffer_view_set_default_indent(gui->view,
@@ -217,6 +226,10 @@ void gui_windows_reset_settings(void)
 		textbuffer_view_set_scroll(gui->view,
 					   gui->use_scroll ? gui->scroll :
 					   settings_get_bool("scroll"));
+
+		if (old_wcwidth_impl != wcwidth_impl) {
+			textbuffer_view_redraw(gui->view);
+		}
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c b/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c
index 68947f0c..6e031ebf 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ void term_add_unichar(TERM_WINDOW *window, unichar chr)
 
 	switch (term_type) {
 	case TERM_TYPE_UTF8:
-	  	term_printed_text(unichar_isprint(chr) ? mk_wcwidth(chr) : 1);
+		term_printed_text(unichar_isprint(chr) ? i_wcwidth(chr) : 1);
                 term_addch_utf8(window, chr);
 		break;
 	case TERM_TYPE_BIG5:
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ int term_addstr(TERM_WINDOW *window, const char *str)
 				len++;
 				ptr++;
 			} else {
-				len += unichar_isprint(tmp) ? mk_wcwidth(tmp) : 1;
+				len += unichar_isprint(tmp) ? i_wcwidth(tmp) : 1;
 				ptr = g_utf8_next_char(ptr);
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c b/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c
index 3ccd95f5..e85381e0 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ static inline unichar read_unichar(const unsigned char *data, const unsigned cha
 		*width = 1;
 	} else {
 		*next = (unsigned char *)g_utf8_next_char(data);
-		*width = unichar_isprint(chr) ? mk_wcwidth(chr) : 1;
+		*width = unichar_isprint(chr) ? i_wcwidth(chr) : 1;
 	}
 	return chr;
 }
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ static void view_update_cache(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view, LINE_REC *line,
 		view->cache->last_linecount = view_get_linecount(view, line);
 }
 
-static void view_reset_cache(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view)
+void textbuffer_view_reset_cache(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view)
 {
 	GSList *tmp;
 
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ void textbuffer_view_set_break_wide(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view,
 {
 	if (view->break_wide != break_wide) {
 		view->break_wide = break_wide;
-		view_reset_cache(view);
+		textbuffer_view_reset_cache(view);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ static void view_unregister_indent_func(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view,
 
 	/* recreate cache so it won't contain references
 	   to the indent function */
-	view_reset_cache(view);
+	textbuffer_view_reset_cache(view);
 	view->cache = textbuffer_cache_get(view->siblings, view->width);
 }
 
@@ -1314,7 +1314,7 @@ void textbuffer_view_remove_all_lines(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view)
 	g_hash_table_foreach_remove(view->bookmarks,
 				    (GHRFunc) g_free_true, NULL);
 
-	view_reset_cache(view);
+	textbuffer_view_reset_cache(view);
 	textbuffer_view_clear(view);
 	g_slist_foreach(view->siblings, (GFunc) textbuffer_view_clear, NULL);
 }
diff --git a/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.h b/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.h
index a670df2b..1ae7c163 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.h
+++ b/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.h
@@ -129,6 +129,8 @@ void textbuffer_view_scroll_line(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view, LINE_REC *line);
 /* Return line cache */
 LINE_CACHE_REC *textbuffer_view_get_line_cache(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view,
 					       LINE_REC *line);
+/* Reset the whole line cache */
+void textbuffer_view_reset_cache(TEXT_BUFFER_VIEW_REC *view);
 
 /*
    Functions for manipulating the text buffer, using these commands update