HY is a Japanese indie rock band from Okinawa. Taking its name from their hometown of Higashi Yakena, high school friends Yūhei Miyazato, Shun Naka, Shinsuke Kyoda, Hideyuki Shinzato, and Izumi Nakasone formed the group in 2000 and built a substantial following after busking in the streets. Departure, their studio debut, was issued locally in 2001 and quickly sold out, prompting a nationwide release in 2002 via Climax Entertainment. Later that year, HY were invited to participate in the Fête de la Musique festival and embarked on their first national tour. Starting in 2003 with the release of their sophomore effort Street Story, HY kicked off a record-breaking streak of chart-topping independent albums that continued in the following years with Trunk (2004) and Confidence (2005). They followed this success with a string of sold-out shows across Japan, their first international tour throughout the US and Canada, and their fifth LP HeartY (2008), which climbed to Number 2 on the Oricon charts. During the next few decades, the band would reach the top of the charts once again with Whistle (2010) and stayed active in the subsequent years through releases such as Parade (2012), Route 29 (2012), Glocal (2014), Life (2015), Chance (2017), Rainbow (2019), and Hanaemi (2021). Officially issued in 2022, their fifteenth album Kafuu peaked at Number 30 on the Billboard Japan Albums Chart.
