BEGIN

Overview

BEGIN (ビギン, stylized as BEGIN) is a Japanese acoustic group from Ishigaki Island in the Yaeyama Islands of Okinawa Prefecture. The trio consists of Eishō Higa (vocals, sanshin), Masaru Shimabukuro (guitar, vocals) and Hitoshi Uechi (piano, vocals). They debuted in 1990 with "Koishikute" and are known for hits such as "Nada Sōsō" and "Shimanchu nu Takara", and they have appeared on the NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Their sound contains many elements of traditional Okinawan music and prominently features the sanshin. They are managed by Amuse and record for Imperial Records. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked them #100 in its "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists".

Career

Formation and the Ika Ten show

The three members have been friends since elementary school and attended the same senior high school. After graduation they intended to go their separate ways, but Eishō gathered them together again and they focused on music. On December 5, 1988, they sang at a friend's wedding, calling themselves "Begin" for the first time. They formed the band in Tokyo, initially playing hard rock before turning to bluesy songs. On September 2, 1989, they appeared on the TBS audition show Miyake Yūji no Ikasu Band Tengoku ("Ika Ten") and performed "Koishikute", earning praise from every judge and becoming the 12th Ika Ten King. They kept winning with "Kokoroyuku made Blues", "Wonderful Tonight" and "No Money Blues", and on September 30 defeated the final challenger with "Lonely Night" to become the second Grand Ika Ten King.

Professional career

BEGIN made their professional debut on March 21, 1990. "Koishikute" was used as a Nissan commercial song and reached No. 4 on the Oricon chart. In 1996, "Koe no Omamori Kudasai" was a smash hit as a commercial song for Astel Tokyo's PHS service. Selected songs include "Blue Snow" (1990), "Sora ni hoshi ga aru yōni" (1997, 2000), "Nada Sōsō" (2000), "Akari" (2001), "Shimanchu nu Takara" (2002), "Sanshin no hana" (2006) and "Egao no manma" (2009). At least one of their songs has appeared on the NHK program Minna no Uta. In 2001 they began the annual "Uta no Hi Concert" on the day after Okinawa Memorial Day. In 2005, for their 15th anniversary, they held their first concerts at Nippon Budokan and Osaka-jo Hall. In August 2006 they joined THE Yumejintō Fes.2006 at the invitation of Keisuke Kuwata. They held a 20th anniversary concert at Osaka-jo Hall on March 21, 2010, and a 25th anniversary event on Ishigaki on March 21, 2015. In summer 2018 they released the new songs "Band wo Kumoyo" and "Tonde Hi ni Iru Hara no Mushi" digitally, and on October 16, 2019 they issued the 30th anniversary best album Gajumaru Best. They have also performed as the "Ichariba Ohana" and "Izayoi Yoi" artists for the Disney-produced anime Stitch!.

Musical style

BEGIN blends traditional Okinawan music with pop, kayōkyoku and enka influences, built around the sanshin. They created an original stringed instrument, the Ichigo Ichie, which combines features of a guitar and a sanshin, and released the Ichigo Ichie album series of self-covers, Western songs and standards. The group also writes for other artists; most notably, "Nada Sōsō" was written with lyrics by Ryōko Moriyama and music by BEGIN.