First cell phone post via tiny keyboard so in short : I like it 
BH: Congrats on the new phone! Itâs a Nokia phone, right?
Well, if Iâm not mistaken, I believe weâve settled on a rather satisfactory subtitle, as well as a design for the saofuki!
I will send it to Nitta san at the end of the day, unless there is some fierce and overwhelming opposition.
http://www.hdwpapers.com/thumbs/300_wallpaper_hd_2-t2.jpg
Iâm fine with this although Iâm sad that the name now includes something that almost no one knows of instead of something they might have heard about. I mean it took me one year of hanging out here and playing shamisen to find out about the word Hogaku.
But I donât think we will find any better name soâŚ
I think it just has to be broadcast. I mean, nobody knows what a shamisen is until they hear it and think âWTF IS THAT INSTRUMENT!?â And do research. I think we should also be in charge of capitalizing on this name. It is what it is, and I believe that is a pretty accurate description. Nobody knows what âBachidoâ is immediately either. haha
Yeah Iâm gonna miss the old subtitle. I think if it ainât broke donât fix it, but some people must think itâs broke⌠oh well. the new emblem looks awesome by the way. I think it would be cool if the emblem covered more of the saofuki though.
Karl: one word: Keywords. 
Whether or not âshamisenâ is included in the subtitle, the word âshamisenâ is riddled throughout the site, both in the forum and other pages. Thus, when people google âshamisenâ, Bachido will pop up no matter what.
TJ hitâs the nail on the head (as they say). Excellent point and I couldnât agree more.
Jonathan: Well, the main reason it has to change is from the future inclusion of shakuhachi and other Japanese instruments. It simply wouldnât do to have these great Japanese axes hidden in âinternational shamisen communityâ, so I want to make the change before ordering a bunch of saofuki with the old name printed.
As for the emblem covering more of the sao. I had made some designs with that which looked great. However, after a shamisen practice, I pulled out my saofuki (from the Hirosaki taikai) and noticed how it looked unfolded and folded.
Here it is unfolded.
And then folded.
http://imgur.com/tQI0G,YGVYN#1
As one who rarely unfolds the saofuki, I didnât realize how small the picture actually was.
Not that it really matters, but it just struck me recently; why the spacing in the Japanese version?
Also, what font is that for the Japanese? Itâs pretty sweet.
why the spacing in the Japanese version?
âŚ
⌠That is an excellent question. Somehow I figured spacing between each âwordâ would make it easier to read. 
Thoughts about this?
It seems a little too close together, imho.
Ah yes! Itâs in the Epson font pack! Really great - Japanese Unicode Fonts
It might be best to get some input from the native speakers (readers?) here, but to me it looks more natural without the spacing. Just how Japanese normally works, you know?
Ah yes, I showed Masahiro the final version a few hours ago and specifically asked what he thought about the placement of the kanji, and he said it was fine.
Just now, when I sent the spacing-less version, his reply ăăăăă迡ăăăă
Iâm on the fence as well. The main thing it feels scrunched, in relative to the length/size of the english text. I can try making it bigger. Letâs see.
Oh! This might actually be pretty nice
Just now, when I sent the spacing-less version, his reply ăăăăă迡ăăăă
Haha. So Japanese. Small or big, eitherâs fine, but you might want move the text around a little to be more in line with the center of the mon. By the way, is there a difference in bolding between the small and big Japanese?
By the way, just want to make it clear to everyone, the correct pronunciation of the Japanese is âCOCKâS-eye hoe-GOCK-oo kee-YO-kye.â
To me, having spacing in the Japanese puts weird stops in there. Kind of like if you wrote in English with periods, like âInternational. Hogaku. Community.â Like theyâre buzzwords instead of the name of an organization. If it doesnât read that way to Japanese people, than it might be fine, but I say go without the spacing.
To me, having spacing in the Japanese puts weird stops in there. Kind of like if you wrote in English with periods, like âInternational. Hogaku. Community.â Like theyâre buzzwords instead of the name of an organization. If it doesnât read that way to Japanese people, than it might be fine, but I say go without the spacing.
I agree with Jamie. ĺ˝ééŚćĽ˝ĺäź looks most natural.
ĺ˝é éŚćĽ˝ ĺäź can look like " International & Hogaku & Community"
Yes! Validation! My Japanese skills are Number 1 Super Ichiban!
Yes, Jamie. Validated. ^o^
but you might want move the text around a little to be more in line with the center of the mon.
Ryoukai! Iâll give it a shot.
By the way, is there a difference in bolding between the small and big Japanese?
Ah yes, when increasing the font size, I thought the bolding made it a little too⌠in yoâ face. Thus, a bit thinner I made it. Iâm gonna try reducing the size a wee bit more though.
the correct pronunciation of the Japanese is âCOCKâS-eye hoe-GOCK-oo kee-YO-kye.â
Pppffff⌠As how Jack pronounces it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Absw5V1IAdQ#t=361s
Ryoukai! Having been devalidated, I will remove the spacing. Chotto matte~
Okay, as for text alignment, the mon is exactly-ish lined up almost-perfectly with the hexagon in the Bachidoâs âOâ.
For kanji, I made it bold, and also tried making it much larger. It looked interesting at first, but the top one is probably more visually pleasing. (?)
Thereâs no reason to argue anymore, but Iâve met several people who know what the shamisen is and what it sounds like, but itâs not like they are scavaging the internet for more tsugaru shamisen videos. Just setting that straight
Okay, as for text alignment, the mon is exactly-ish lined up almost-perfectly with the hexagon in the Bachidoâs âOâ.
Oh, I actually meant more that I thought it would look better if the text didnât go above or below the mon. Like, if there were two imaginary parallel lines (tangents, even) running horizontally from the top and bottom of the mon, the text to the right would lie within those lines.
Pppffff⌠As how Jack pronounces it?
Yes, exactly. He should write a textbook.
Honestly, that part of that video makes me feel so much better whenever I miss Japanese people. Itâs like every enkai I ever went to. It just escalates to madness so quickly, but itâs so true to so many interactions Iâve had with Japanese people.