Rinken Band
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Rinken Band (りんけんバンド) is an Okinawan folk band that helped popularize their homeland's musical forms starting in 1985, when their first hit, "Arigato", was released.
Rinken Band fuses Okinawan folk music, pops, and celebratory eisa traditions to make ballads and dance tunes. Members include Tomoko Uehara (vocals, drums, sanbas, sanshin), Yosimi Kuawe (vocals, drums), Katsunori Inafuku (vocals, drums), Toyoharu Ookawa (vocals, drums), Kazunari Uechi (drums, sanshin), Akira Uehara (bass guitar), Kiyohito Yamakawa (keyboards) and band leader Teruya Rinken (sanshin).
The band was founded after the split of NENES by Rinken Teruya, the son of well-known Okinawan folk music artist Rinsuke Teruya.