World’s oldest female barber, Shitsui Hakoishi, dies at 109

Shitsui Hakoishi, who worked as a barber until she was 108, has died at the age of 109, Japanese media including TV Asahi reported.

Born in 1916, Hakoishi began as an apprentice at a barbershop in Tokyo in 1931. She earned her barber’s license at 19 and opened a shop in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district after marrying a fellow barber in 1939.

Her husband was later drafted and died during World War II. Hakoishi then ran a barbershop in Tochigi Prefecture. She continued working in the trade until she turned 108, when Guinness recognized her last year as the world’s oldest female barber.

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Even if your husband dies first, it would be good for women to learn a skill from now on so they can make a living.

In a media interview during her lifetime, Hakoishi said her father had advised her to learn a skill so she could support herself if her husband died. “I decided to become a barber after my father told me, ‘Even if your husband dies first, it would be good for women to learn a skill from now on so they can make a living.’ I am truly glad I chose barbering, because I was able to open my own shop and support myself.”

The record for the world’s oldest male barber belongs to a barber from New York who was 107 in 2018.

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I am truly glad I chose barbering, because I was able to open my own shop and support myself.