BEGIN (ビギン) is a popular 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 'Shimanchu nu takara'. Members: Shimabukuro Masaru, Higa Eisho and Uechi Hitoshi. Ishigaki, Okinawa ... This article is about the prefecture. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the common people. ... The sanshin (三線) is an Okinawan musical instrument, and precursor of the Japanese Shamisen. ... Old 6-string zither banjo 4-string banjos The banjo is a stringed instrument of African-American origin, early or original examples sometimes being called the gourd banjo. Its name is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. ...