Mr. Brother’s Cut Club

Is not your usual barber shop.

(Originally published in 2016)

Where / 所在地

Located in Harajuku, it was opened in February 2015 by Tomoyo Nishimori. By chance, I was first introduced to this barbershop through my friend and barber Shunsuke Miyamoto and thanks to one of my oldest friends in Japan. Struggling to find the right haircut in a city not very used to a turbulent south European hair, this was just the right place.

2015年2月、原宿に暖簾を掲げたMR. BROTHER’S CUT CLUB。長年の友人バーバー•宮本隼輔から紹介を受けたのがきっかけだ。

The Crew / スタッフ

The crew at Mr. Brother’s feels more like a bunch of good friends than just colleagues in a hair salon. With their tattooed arms, piercings, old/new hairstyles and their retro American garments, they are not just unique because of their look but also because of their skills. For several reasons (and predominantly in Japan, as far as I have seen), the scissors are the main and mostly used tool due to mostly longer style haircuts and certain pride on cutting skills. But here, Wahl trimmers are not a rare find, and the guys will use them to create impossible fades and fine pompadours, amongst others.

Mr. BROTHER’S CUT CLUBのスタッフたちはお互いが、「同僚」というより「友人」のような温かみが感じられる。 タトゥーの入った腕やピアス、時代を超えた多種多様なヘアスタイル、『オールドアメリカンファッション』などを身にまとったスタッフは技術・容姿ともに洗礼されている。当然のことながらハサミがメインツールとして活躍するこの店舗では、バーバーという職人のプライドが垣間見れる。バリカンを巧みに使い、不可能に近いフェードやポンパドールなど幅広いスタイルを提供している。

Origin / 軌跡

In a letter from Nishimori Tomoyo, he tells us about his story and why he decided to open Mr. Brothers. He had been working in a hair salon for 6 years, but it had become a monotonous daily struggle. Inspiration came through an event co-hosted by Donnie of Hawleywood’s traditional Barbershop (California based) and Kawakami from Avash. Drawing great influence and the values from the vintage American fashion, tattoo and traditional barbering scenes, he decided to open a new hair salon. With help from his friends, supports and sponsors from the previous years, he finally opened Mr. Brothers Cut Club.

都内美容室に6年間勤めていたが、サロンスタイルにしっくり来ない自分と葛藤する日々だった、と話すオーナーの西森氏。そんな中、カリフォルニアの「hawleywood’s barbershop」のドニー氏と「アパッシュ」の川上氏が共同主催するイベントを見に行ったことでバーバーカルチャー、タトゥー、ファッション、モーターなどのアメリカンカルチャーに衝撃を受けこの道に進むことを決意。以後3年間の準備期間の中で各方面の知人や友人、スポンサーなどの協力のもと、原宿に暖簾を構える。

Concept / コンセプト

The reason why Mr. Brothers is different is because they actually love what they do. Mr. Nishimori says “I want the customers to experience the traditional barber culture, where they can feel a social and festive atmosphere bubbling inside our barbershop.” When you visit Mr.Brothers, it does indeed feel more like a community more than a salon; a very different feeling from your classic hair salon.

まず店舗に対して感じられるのが、これまでのバーバーにはなかった自由かつ気張らない雰囲気。「伝統のバーバー文化」をコンセプトとする店舗は、ヨーロッパにおける「サロン」いわゆる談話を楽しむ溜まり場のような空間として、魅力の一つとなっている。

Future / 今後の展開

Moving forward, their goal is to mix both the traditional and Japanese high-level Japanese hair styling techniques, with a view to spread a new barber culture that goes way beyond the commercial vision of hair and beauty salons.

MR.BROTHERSが理容美容の枠を越えて、日本の高い技術力をベースに様々なカルチャーをMIXさせて新しいカタチのバーバー文化を世界に発信していくことを目指している。

Nishimori’s very own car (the magnificent Ford shown below) has been feature in several photo-shoots and music videos, and even the same store as location for a high fashion photo shoot. If you are based in Tokyo or visiting here, I highly recommend a to visit the store to experience the feeling, culture, and friendly atmosphere. And you might even get a cold beer while you wait!

西森氏の愛車であるレトロ感漂うフォードは、多くの撮影会やミュージックビデオに登場する。東京を訪れることがあれば、ぜひ足を運んでみてほしい。待ち時間にはビールを片手にお店の雰囲気を楽しめることも。

The Team and The Portraits / スタッフ写真

Unfortunately not everyone who works at Mr.Brothers was working when I took these shots, these are some portraits of them.

残念ながら今回の撮影で全てのスタッフに会うことはできなかったが、スタッフの一部を紹介したい。

Links:

Mr Brothers Home page

Instagram

Youtube

About State of Tokyo 

Thank you for your dedication to reading this far, and I'm grateful for your interest in this project.

My name is Alex Abian, a Photographer and (aspiring) writer based in Tokyo. State of Tokyo is born out of my deep passion for showcasing the fascinating people and places I've encountered along my journey.

You can read more about State of Tokyo here.

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Brotures Harajuku — Fixed Gear Tokyo (Published in 2017)