WHAT IS YOUR IMMIGRATION STORY?
Sayuri Tsuchitani is a hairdresser and owner of HeadSpa EN.
I came here in 1998. I didn't fit into the Japanese female role. I wanted to have a different life. I'm from a very country side in Japan so I just wanted to go to the city so I went to New York City.I went to ESL, English as a Second Language, and I fell in love with the city and I wanted to be in the United States and found a school that I could afford. That was a beauty school. So ever since I have been a hairdresser.
WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOURNEY LOOK LIKE?
I am an owner of Japanese HeadSpa EN, which is my purpose in life is making people feel good and happy. So I'm doing Japanese authentic culture, bringing here and making people happy. I came to Los Angeles in 2016 and I was still working with my former boss and I later on got a green card. And once I got the green card I just wanted to bring my authentic culture, Japanesey and then I wanted to do my small business. So that's when I started doing HeadSpa next to the salon I was working at.
REFLECTIONS
Where do you see your role in shaping the future of life? What's your hope in terms of your impact to American culture? What legacy do you want to leave in American history?
"I would say like I was grew up with a modern Japanese culture, but then when I came to Los Angeles, especially I started going to a nursing home and then the Japanese, all this old grandpa, grandma, I feel like their story is much deeper than how I see Japan and their struggle compared to them. Mine is nothing, however, I do believe this is a small immigrant story, but a lot of people have their own story and I just wanted to share and create a community and I just wanted to create a Japanese community stronger. That's what I hope."
— Sayuri Tsuchitani, hairdresser and owner of HeadSpa EN.
