Starting With (Including)
4 related grammar points that express the same core idea - compared below so you can tell which one to reach for.
Members
- Noun を はじめ JLPT N2
- Noun を はじめとして JLPT N2
- Noun を はじめとする Noun JLPT N2
- Noun を皮切りに / を皮切りにして JLPT N1
をはじめ / を皮切りに
The first item kicked off a series that kept going.
Noun を皮切りに / を皮切りにして vs Noun を はじめ: Use を皮切りに. It marks a starting point that a sequence unfolded from (東京を皮切りに全国ツアー). をはじめ picks out the most prominent member of a set ('X and others'), with no sequence implied at all.
The phrase has to modify a following noun.
Noun を はじめとする Noun vs Noun を はじめとして: Use をはじめとする: 日本をはじめとする国々. をはじめとして leads into a clause instead. Same meaning, and the choice is purely about whether a noun or a predicate comes next.