What Kind of Society Does Professional Wheelchair Hairdresser Hoshio Aim For?

Have you heard of a hairdresser specializing in wheelchair users?

This time, we had the opportunity to interview Mr. Sean, who is actively working as a hairdresser specializing in wheelchair users.

In addition, he is involved in a wide range of activities such as home helper services, preparing for solo art exhibitions, and town revitalization incorporating barrier-free concepts.

We delved into the background of how the profession of a hairdresser specializing in wheelchair users was created and the future that Mr. Sean aims for.

If you are interested in barrier-free concepts or are contemplating your career path, please read to the end.

*Information was confirmed and partially updated on March 13, 2026.

1. Who is Sean?

Sean provides a mobile haircut service mainly in the Kanto region and actively shares his activities on social media.

Besides being a hairdresser, he is also a home helper and event organizer, and he plans to run a café in the future. He talks about wanting to engage in anything he finds interesting without being confined to one profession.

Interestingly, Sean did not initially aim to become a hairdresser.

He learned piano from age 4 to 16 and was involved in a band during high school. Influenced by this, he attended a music school after graduating high school and later worked at a professional recording studio.

He mentions that artists seen on TV would visit the studio for recordings, and he enjoyed being favored by his seniors.

On the other hand, he also felt uncertain about whether this was the right path. Gradually, he began to admire skilled professions where one could acquire a trade.

At that time, Sean had a crush on a hairdresser. He thought that if he became a hairdresser, he could talk on the same level, so he looked for a correspondence beauty school and decided to become a hairdresser.

However, the condition for admission to the school was to be working at a salon. Of course, he had no experience working in a beauty salon. But with his inherent vitality, he approached a beauty salon near the recording studio.

Surprisingly, it was a top-notch salon. Although he impulsively said, "Please let me work here," he later received a call and was successfully hired as an apprentice.

From there, he had two encounters that became the catalyst for his current activities.

2. The Encounters that Changed Sean

After graduating from beauty school, Sean worked as a hairdresser in a salon.

He frequently traveled to Hong Kong for work and decided to make friends there by using Facebook to connect with locals.

As he visited more often, he made more friends and was able to have deep conversations about each other's life perspectives over meals.

During one of these conversations, he was asked:

"My dream is to build a house in my favorite American city, have barbecues with my family on weekends, and spend time leisurely. Why do Japanese people answer with a profession when asked about their future dreams?"

His Hong Kong friend valued lifestyle and considered work merely a means to an end. Sean was quite shocked by this perspective.

Later, while exploring his own life, he had the opportunity to talk with a friend's mother.

She was producing "Kokoro Moji Artist Mr. Urakami," who was previously featured in Ayumi. She told him about Mr. Urakami's art endeavors for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and Sean found Mr. Urakami to be very impressive.

(You can read about Mr. Urakami

Then, the mother suggested, "Why don't you cut hair in the Olympic Village?"

A while back, he had cut the hair of a friend who was feeling down at home, and the friend was pleased, saying, "I feel a bit better." This experience made him think that he might be able to make people happy with his haircuts. He distributed handwritten business cards with "Hairdresser Specializing in Wheelchair Users, Sean" written on them, which became the starting point for his current activities.

3. Why Work as a Helper Too?

Sean currently works as a home helper about two days a week.

Although he started working as a hairdresser specializing in wheelchair users, he had no prior connection to the world of disabilities or welfare.

Initially, he spent two weeks living in a wheelchair himself. By directly experiencing the barrier-free conditions outside and the mechanisms of a wheelchair, his perspective changed significantly.

When providing mobile haircuts, he started with the idea that having caregiving qualifications and experience would reassure clients if care was needed.

During actual services, he ensures to thoroughly understand the client's disabilities and physical condition to minimize their burden, making his experience valuable.

Additionally, witnessing home care firsthand has significantly changed his perspective. When encountering barriers in daily life, he exchanges opinions with users and staff, leading to new insights.

He finds working in welfare enjoyable and feels every day is refreshing.

4. Looking Ahead to Future Challenges!

When considering the meaning of being a hairdresser, he concluded that he doesn't particularly enjoy the act of cutting hair itself.

However, he realized he enjoys making people happy and meeting their expectations.