Begin (band)

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Begin (ビギン) is a popular Japanese three-man pop group from Ishigaki Island (石垣島), Okinawa, Japan. Their sound contains many elements of traditional Okinawan folk music, and prominently features the sanshin, an Okinawan three-stringed banjo. Perhaps their most famous song is Nada Sousou, a collaboration between BEGIN and Ryoko Moriyama. Begin has had at least one song appear on the NHK program Minna no Uta. They are also the performers of the opening ("Ichariba Ohana") and ending ("Izayoi Yoi") songs of the Disney-produced anime series Stitch!.

The members of Begin - Shimabukuro Masaru, Higa Eisho and Uechi Hitoshi - are all of native Okinawan ancestry. They have been friends since elementary school. They also attended the same senior high school but upon graduation all intended to go their separate ways and pursue different goals. One day, Eisho gathered the members together again and they began to focus on music. On December 5th, 1988, they sang at a friend's wedding, calling themselves “BEGIN” for the first time. Soon they began to become famous as ‘BEGIN’. To date they have released 22 singles, 24 albums and 8 DVDs. (November 13, 2006)