Piece set in latin / western characters

Hi there,

I have a suggestion regarding popularity of Shogi. I am able to read and write both Japanese and Chinese, but I think it might many foreigners abandon Shogi bc they cant read the Japanese characters. So I suggest to have the option to toggle between the current set of pieces and another set with latin characters. K could be king, like used in the notation.

What do you think about that?

Volker

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Default piece set for this site should be determined based on player location. Show Kanji set if user comes from Japan, otherwise show either a Latin set or a Kanji set with movement arrows inscribed on the pieces. That would make shogi seem much less intimidating to foreigners.

I’m from the U.S. I remember showing this site to a coworker who knows how to play chess, and upon opening the site he was immediately intimidated. He said he didn’t know what was going on and was overwhelmed by the amount of strange characters.
To a foreigner who doesn’t know anything about shogi - opening up this website really does look a bit like you landed on a site written in a foreign language. I don’t think this is ideal for player retention.

Perhaps one could determine what set to show by default based on user location. (If Japan show Kanji, else show Kanji with arrows as default set, or Latin as default set). Of course players can go into settings and override this feature; I’m just primarily talking about piece set defaults.

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From my point of you western piece set are simply not shogi. People who got chocked by some kanji will proably not start playing anyway. I more belive in show the connection to Japanese culture rather then try to hide it.

Shogi take some effort to learn and the player I know are either chess player or just in love Japan.

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If you "think" that using western characters is simply not Shogi, then why is there a western notation? Why are there foreign clubs using western pieces? And why do these clubs call themselves Shogi clubs??? There is not a single argument in your post. It's a childish answer.

The most childish argument is that people who got choked by Kanji will not start anyway. This is utter nonsense. I know some chess players and they are choked by the Kanji. That is exactly the point.

I do not continue this as you are rude for no reason. Life is too short. Sorry

Having a piece set with Latin characters is definitely a great way to encourage non-Japanese speaking (or learning) people to play shogi. As someone who has been learning Japanese, I know how hard it is to learn these characters, so it must be really difficult and intimidating for people with no experience with the language. But, the kanji is very important to the culture of shogi and the aesthetic of the game in general. I think that if the kanji are completely replaced with Latin characters for all people with a non-Japan IP address, they wouldn't be exposed to how the game is really played and how it is tied to Japanese culture. Latin characters would in some ways be a westernization of shogi. So, I think that the website should urge all players to use kanji, but also have a side option for Latin characters. In general, I think shogi players should spend time learning about the Japanese cultural aspects of the game. I think that stuff is also really important for the community.

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