According to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare's hygiene administration report in 2017, the number of barber shops in Japan was 120,956 while the number of beauty salons was 247,578. This is the highest number in last 30 years. Looking at the number of people engaged in the work, it was announced that barbers totaled 221,097 and hairdressers 523,543. As like the number of beauty salons, this was the highest ever. There is a big difference between the number of barber shops and the number of beauty salons, but if we think of it as a combined hairdressing and beauty industry we can see that this industry keeps growing year over year. Scissors are an indispensable tool for barbers and hairdressers who work in this growing industry. They are bear no relation to the scissors people use daily as they are very expensive tools. While there is no set rule, most professionals have at least 3-4 pairs of scissors with their use depending on their purpose. This time we pay a visit to Hayashi Scissors, producers and sellers of scissors for barbers and hairdressers.
Hayashi Scissors, Wakayama Prefecture ｜ 2019.08.05
A visit to Hayashi Scissors, producers and sellers of barber and hairdresser scissors in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture.
This time we pay a visit to Hayashi Scissors in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture. Since their establishment in 1992, this company has been producing and selling scissors for hairdressers. When we asked the representative of the company Mr. Hayashi what led him to working in the scissor business, we got an unexpected answer. Mr. Hayashi's parents used to run a bicycle sales and repair shop and he took over the family business without hesitation after graduating school. “I was interested in my father's job ever since I was little. Watching his work, I decided with my own will.” However, just as he started getting used to the work, he was involved in unexpected accident. “It was a serious accident and I was hospitalized for about three and a half years. My life was saved, but my leg was forever handicapped.” Mr. Hayashi's father looked at his disable son and considered what kind of job he could do with his handicap. He then introduced an acquaintance's company to his son Mr. Hayashi. "I heard my father asked them, 'my son has become disabled, could you hire him?'. This was a company that made scissors.”