Japanese barbers make a comeback

In Tokyo, 12 young barbers are cutting hair. They're in an international competition. The best haircut wins the World Barber Classic.

Japan has lots of barber shops. But most of the barbers are old. These barbers only cut basic hairstyles.

Lots of men in Japan stopped using barbers. They go to hairdressers for fashionable haircuts. They copy famous actors and boy-band singers.

But young barbers are changing things. They're cutting more interesting hairstyles. They put photos of them on social media.

Takamasa Suzuki is in the competition. His haircut copies a bonsai tree.

Takumasa Suzuki: "Actually, my model is a bonsai artist - a world-famous one at that. And as you know, bonsai has these unique shapes and textures of wood and branches, and I wanted each of these elements to be expressed in my haircut today."

Each barber cuts a model's hair. They only have 30 minutes. People enjoy watching them.

Judges check everything. They want to see the barber's skills. And the model needs to like the haircut. He needs to look good and feel good.

One judge is Giancarlo Burgos. He's from Los Angeles. He thinks that haircuts are very important.

Giancarlo Burgos: "I think hair is more than just hair, right? It's a way of communicating yourself, but also connecting people. So I think it's a very, very amazing thing. And I'm so happy that now the world is becoming more aware. And especially seeing competition now, I think it begins to evolve past the chair, yeah. It's more worldwide and it's language that anybody can understand." View Less