The character '笨' is used instead of '本' in the notation of 'nanbon-joshi' in some schools (there is the practice of specifying the fundamental tone using nanbon-joshi even in shamisen music, sokyoku (koto music), sankyoku (music performed by a shamisen (three-stringed Japanese guitar), so (thirteen-stringed Japanese zither), and shakuhachi (bamboo flute) trio), and biwa (Japanese flute) music, but attention is required because the actual tones vary according to the instrument).
「何本調子」の表記に「笨」の字を用いる流派もある（なお、三味線音楽、箏曲・三曲、琵琶においても「何本調子」で基本音を定める慣習があるが、分野によって実際の音の高さは異なっているので注意が必要である）。