Sonshi-style a.k.a. Keyboard on Laptop

Some time ago I was chatting to a friend of mine who throughout the conversation sent me a photo of his laptop with his mechanical keyboard on top of the laptop’s integrated keyboard. I began typing Hell yeah, ... errrr ... errr ...-style hmm. I knew that there was a specific term that describes this way of working, yet I couldn’t remember the words. I let it go and continued the conversation.

Later that day I remembered the interaction and reached out to the friendly folks on the Mechanical Keyboards Matrix channel, hoping someone there could help me with the term I was looking for – but I was out of luck.

Long story short, the term that I was looking for is Sonshi-style.

What is Sonshi-style?

The term Sonshi-style comes from the Japanese word 尊師, which translates to respected teacher or more loosely guru. To work Sonshi-style means to work in the style of the guru.

The origins of the term aren’t 100% clear, however, the most commonly found explanation mentions a photo of RMS, the creator of the GNU project and founder of the FSF, sitting at a table, with his laptop in front of him and what appears to be a HHKB keyboard on top of his laptop’s integrated keyboard.

Hence, the assumption is that it is him who the word guru references. Other sources in Japanese also mention the term RMS style, referencing a similar picture of Stallman typing away in what is presumably a Happy Hacking Keyboard on top of his laptop.

Wherever the term Sonshi-style originated and whoever it ultimately referred to can’t be pinpointed. However, these days it has become the official term for placing one’s external keyboard on top of one’s laptop. It is even being used by the official PFU HHKB account.

So remember: Whenever you’re working with your external keyboard on top of your laptop, you’re working Sonshi-style.