Chiharu Hiratoko, 43 years old, is the first lady showing up in a Japanese kimono for a UNIQUE PIECE’s interview.

“I have been wearing kimono since I was 40 years old, and I spend my weekends in kimono that my husband selects for me.” Chiharu said.

 

Chiharu believes in her husband’s sense of fashion and colours. Her hairstylist, Mr. Kitahara, was also introduced by her husband.

 

“Mr. Kitahara has been my husband’s hairstylist for more than 10 years, and for me 3- 4 years so far. My husband and I go together for haircut if our schedule meets. It is so much fun to spend our time together with Mr. Kitahara.”

 

For Chiharu and her husband, Mr. Kitahara is more than just a hairstylist he’s like family.

 

 

For hairstyle, Chiharu leave the decision on Mr. Kitahara’s hands.

“What Mr. Kitahara is great for is he understands what I want without me explaining. I fall in love with Mr. Kitahara’s talent and creativity for hairstyle, especially for hair colour, he is so talented. It is like having a hair cut show every time I go to his salon.” Chiharu said.

 

 

This time, Mr. Kitahara proposed a hairstyle that matches her kimono style.

“I created a unique but simple, well-balanced, and shiny style that goes well with kimono.” Mr. Kitahara explained.

 

The base for Chiharu’s hair is a bob style slightly shorter on the front. Without gradation cut, he uses the weight of her hair for bang and side of hair to go along with her face, trimmed inside of hair to reduce the volume. The style makes Chiharu’s beautiful eyes to be stand out.

 

 

For hair colour, he applied platinum ash at the base and pink for highlight. For base colour, Mr. Kitahara blended 10 level and 6 level platinum ash colour from Mucota bland for 4:1 ratio. For the trimmed part inside of her hair, he applied 8 level Sunrise orange. For front, he highlighted carefully to make the look softer.

 

“I wanted to created a feminine and sophisticated style by blending different colours.” Mr. Kitahara explained. With his technique for cut and colour, Chiharu’s unique and matured mushroom hairstyle is completed.

 

 

“When we get older we have more opportunities to appreciate high quality products that artisans create. For me, it was the time  I started to wear

kimono daily. Mr. Kitamura is an artisan as well as an artist. There are many hairstylists who can create beauty, but someone like Mr. Kitamura is

unique. He can transform our inferiority complex to uniqueness and individuality. It makes me happy when I see myself in a mirror because my

hairstyle is created by a great artist.” Chiharu said.

 

Chiharu’s family and Mr. Kitahara organize Yose (Japanese ‘vaudeville’ style theatre which is a comprise of two main types, rakugo and manzai).

It seems like their friendly and family relationship will be continued.

 

Hair Salon: SORA

Hairstylist: Yoshinori Kitahara

Official Website:

Photo by Akira Nakamura

Text by Hanako Maruyama