NAKAGAWA, Tochigi Prefecture—Shitsui Hakoishi has remained on the obstacle-ridden road she embarked on nearly a century ago in helping her customers look their best.

At 108, the centenarian barber in Nakagawa town in Tochigi Prefecture has no plans to hang up her scissors anytime soon.

On March 5, she was officially recognized as “the world’s oldest active female barber” by Guinness World Records, receiving the certificate from the official certifier.

Hakoishi, who has been in the barbering business for 94 years, said happily, “It is thanks to everyone in the community. My heart is full.”

She also thanked her parents for blessing her with a healthy and strong body.

“I will never forget this,” she said. 

EAGER TO BE THE BEST 

Hakoishi grew up in Ouchi village, today’s Nakagawa town. She moved to Tokyo by herself in 1931 at the age of 14 and worked as an apprentice in a barbershop in what is now Sumida Ward in the capital.

When interviewed by The Asahi Shimbun in January this year, she looked back on those days and said, “When I was young, I wanted to catch up with and surpass my senior apprentices as quickly as possible, so I worked very hard and did my best.”

Hakoishi thought that she would not catch up just by putting in the same effort as others. So when her senior apprentices went out at night, she would secretly practice shaving in the shop.

“There is no end to being envious of others. I wanted to make as much effort as I could on my own,” Hakoishi said.

She obtained her barber's license in June 1936, shortly before turning 20.

From apprentice to full-fledged barber, “I was happy to be able to work with confidence,” she said. “I wanted to be independent and have my own shop, so I was doing it with hope.”

She worked her way up through several barbershops and teaching apprentices while honing her skills.

“It was the glory days of my life, but I also had a lot of responsibility,” Hakoishi recalled.

She specialized in the latest “regent” hairstyle at the time. With her own unique twist, she made the collar of a customer’s back hair look like a pigeon’s tail spreading out, and it became a hit, making her in great demand by customers.

She was also good at “danpatsu,” a bob-like haircut that was popular among “modern girls.”

“There were many customers who chose me as their hair stylist,” she said proudly.

In 1939, Hakoishi got married and opened a barbershop with her husband in what is now Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo.

The couple had a daughter and a son. The business prospered.

TRAGEDY STRIKES DURING WAR

However, in 1944, her husband was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army and left for the war.

The barbershop was destroyed in an air raid, and she and her children evacuated to her parents’ home in Tochigi Prefecture.

“I was waiting for my husband to come back and we would open another store in Tokyo,” Hakoishi said.

However, he never returned.

It was not until seven or eight years after the war’s end that she received the official notification of her husband’s death.

“I couldn't believe it, and all I could think about was dying,” she recalled. She even thought of killing herself and her children by using rat poison.

But then she remembered her husband's words, “Please take care of the children,” and she stopped herself from committing suicide.

She returned to her hometown Nakagawa and opened “Riyo (barber) Hakoishi,” and raised her young children on her own.

She said she still thinks about the decision to continue living from time to time.

“I wonder to myself that I am still alive after all the hardships I went through,” Hakoishi said. “No matter what happens, the best thing you can do is to do your best and survive. Happiness will surely be there.”

CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD

Every morning, she takes the time to work her legs and back muscles by doing exercises.

In 2021, at the age of 104, Hakoishi became a runner in the torch relay for the Tokyo Olympics.

During the interview in January, she shared the words that she has cherished and lived by throughout her life: “Do not flinch, do not envy and do not fight.”

She also said, “Once you are determined to go this way, it is best to stay on that one road as far as it will take you.”

To keep moving forward on the path she has followed has helped her persevere through many hardships, she said.

“I intend to stay on this road until the day I die,” Hakoishi said.