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The Dancing Japanese Hairdresser: Keeping rockabilly alive with unique “dancing haircuts”

Oona McGee Aug 8, 2024
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The most entertaining haircut you’ll ever have.

In a sleepy residential neighbourhood in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, lies a humble beauty salon called Masakichi. From the outside, it looks like a regular home-run business, with a retro facade painted in pretty pastel hues…

▼ …but when you open the door you’ll find that this is no ordinary beauty salon, because…

▼ …it’s home to The Dancing Hairdresser!

▼ “Hey – welcome!”

The owner of the business, Masayuki Todo, is 70 years of age, but he’s still a young rockabilly at heart, bringing smiles to all his customers with his unique flair. He’s mastered the art of the legendary “dancing haircut”, which, as far as we’re aware, is something no other hairdresser can lay claim to.

▼ Masayuki is a legend among legends.

This charismatic hairdresser was born to entertain, and his love for dancing is clearly on display with his “ディスコナイト” (“Disco Night”) photo board.

You won’t want to be in a rush when you visit because haircuts here can take around two hours. Priced at 2,500 yen (US$17.45) for adults, the cut is super cheap, considering it comes with a free dance performance.

▼ Our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma, who has a history of visiting unusual hairdressers, takes a seat for his dancing haircut.

According to Masayuki, wearing sunglasses turns on his dance mode. He says the shades make it harder for him to see his hands, but it can’t be helped because dance becomes the top priority.

▼ As Masayuki’s hands danced with his body, Masanuki found it impossible to keep a straight face.

First, The Dancing Hairdresser danced to Michael Jackson’s hit song “Billie Jean“. Then he cut some hair. “It’s difficult to keep your hands steady and cut while dancing“, he said between spins, which made Masanuki wonder what was happening to the hair on the back of his head.

The smooth transition between snips and twirls came to an abrupt stop when Masayuki suddenly walked off to the side, saying, “It’s time…”

▼ “…for a moonwalk.“

Masanuki burst out laughing at the scene playing out behind him. Apparently, there is “a time for dancing” and “a time for cutting”, and the ratio is about 8:2, so the hairdresser is basically dancing all the time, leaving many moments where no cutting takes place at all.

This was exactly what Masanuki had come here for, so he lapped up every moment of this private dance performance. It was the most entertained he’d ever been at the hairdressers, and he found himself becoming addicted to the hairdresser’s smooth moves, which were so surprising at times that Masanuki couldn’t help but smile.

Masanuki was a captive audience, applauding in delight after each song. The second song was a slow traditional Japanese enka ballad, while the third was a dramatic tune to match the traditional Chinese performing art of Bian Lian, where performers wear face masks that mysteriously change in seconds.

▼ With Masayuki giving his all to each performance, Masanuki didn’t care what hairstyle he left with. He simply wanted to keep watching the dances.

Masayuki says he started dancing as a hobby around the same time he started working as a hairdresser, and after appearing on local TV at the age of 42, he became widely known as “The Dancing Hairdresser“.

These days, the local celebrity continues to take dance classes and also performs at events at clubs in between working. He says he wants to keep performing dancing haircuts, even into his eighties and nineties, and with his dances being more like daily workouts, they’re certainly keeping him fit.

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A post shared by 砂子間正貫 (@sunakoman)

While Masayuki definitely has the moves, he also has the hairdressing skills because he cuts hair beautifully, with all the expertise you’d expect from an experienced professional. Masanuki was fully satisfied with his haircut, and even felt a tinge of sadness when it ended, wishing that one of Tokyo’s rockabilly dancers would set up a similar service closer to his work in Tokyo.

▼ Happy with his haircut, Masanuki wanted to take The Dancing Hairdresser back to Tokyo with him.

We wouldn’t normally recommend travelling thousands of kilometres for a haircut, but this is a worthy exception because there’s no other place in Japan quite like it. Whether you’re after a new look, or feeling blue and want a pick-me-up, a dancing haircut will definitely bring a smile to your face and put the spring back into your step, and it’s all thanks to The Dancing Hairdresser.

He certainly knows how to bring joy to his work and his customers, and we hope he keeps dancing in his salon for years to come!

Salon information
Biyoushitsu Masakichi / 美容室マサキチ
Address: Hiroshima-ken, Hiroshima-shi, Asaminami-ku, Kamiyasu 2-46-19
広島県広島市安佐南区上安2丁目46-19
Hours vary, call 082-847-0030 for details (only in Japanese)

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[ Read in Japanese ]