Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

I'd like to thank everyone involved with this site for contributing to the shakuhachi community. I am originally from Buffalo, NY and am currently a graduate student at Osaka University in the field of cultural sociology. I've been in Japan for about 6 years now and am 27 years old. I am a 4th dan in iaido, however shakuhachi has completely taken my time away from that practice. I can't get enough of it, from the spiritual side of it to the musical side of it. I don't have any formal music training so I'm doing my best to become a well rounded player.
      I started learning Kinko ryu about 3 years ago and I study under Okada Michiaki, a performer and teacher in the kansai area and a student of Yokoyama Katsuya. I primarily study honkyoku but have also done a little sankyoku, with basic minyo as a starter.
      My research area is identity construction and the shakuhachi player; how the practice of the shakuhachi creates a sub-culture, shapes a person's identity, and also affects their ideas of nationalism, individualism, collectivism etc. I am still at the beginning stages of my research, and my shakuhachi practice, so any information/advice from the seniors is of great value to me and hopefully everyone else on the forum.