At 108 years old, Shitsui Hakoishi has no plans to retire. The slender, white-haired Japanese woman, now officially recognized as the world’s oldest female barber, says she still finds joy in her work and the customers she has served for nearly a century.
This week, Guinness World Records presented Hakoishi with an official certificate confirming her as the oldest female barber in the world.
“I could come this far only because of my customers. I’m overwhelmed and filled with joy,” she said during a televised news conference in her hometown of Nakagawa, located in Tochigi Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
A Career Spanning Nine Decades
Born on November 10, 1916, to a farming family, Hakoishi decided at the young age of 14 that she wanted to become a barber. She left her rural home and moved to Tokyo, where she trained as an apprentice before earning her barber’s license at 20.
She opened her first salon with her husband, and together they built a life around their business. However, tragedy struck when her husband was killed in the Japan-China war that broke out in 1937, leaving her a young widow with two children to raise.
Then, in 1945, disaster struck again. The U.S. firebombing of Tokyo on March 10 destroyed her salon and much of the city. Luckily, she and her children had already been evacuated to Tochigi Prefecture. It took her another eight years before she could open a new salon in her hometown, which she named Rihatsu Hakoishi—using the Japanese word for barber.
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No Plans to Retire
Despite her age, Hakoishi continues working and has no intention of putting down her scissors.
“I am turning 109 this year, so I will keep going until I reach 110,” she said with a confident smile.
Her dedication to her craft is an inspiration to many. Over the years, she has not only witnessed but also adapted to changing hair trends and technologies in the barbering industry. However, she insists that her customers have always been at the heart of her motivation.
Guinness World Records has a separate category for male barbers, which was last held by Anthony Mancinelli from the United States, who was certified at 107 in 2018. However, he has since passed away, making Hakoishi the sole record-holder in this field.