In the heart of Tokyo, Hirokazu Mizutani's grandfather, Yorigi Mizutani, a professional hairdresser, started producing hairdressing scissors in a small premises. For him, the products available on the market at the time were simply not good enough. Initially, he made them for himself. Soon, a small but high-quality scissor manufacturing brand grew out of this production facility. The "Mizutani scissors" were born! Later, the grandfather handed over production to his son, Motokazu Mizutani. He was convinced to work as a pre-producer for other companies due to higher demand and a larger market.

This way, he was able to fully concentrate on the scissors and their quality, but soon completely lost touch with the hairdressers. Customer pressure became increasingly intense. As a result, he gradually lost his independence as a scissor manufacturer and became a supplier to others. Then his eldest son, Hirokazu Mizutani, also expressed interest in his father's craftsmanship. He knew the manufacturing plant from a very young age – it was his playground, so to speak.

This interest grew day by day. At the age of 39, Hirokazu Mizutani took over his father's company on one condition: he wanted to sell his products to hairdressers himself! His hunger for design and quality was immense. Soon, the small company became a scissor manufacturer that made a name for itself in Japan for its quality scissors. Three years later – in 2001 – we joined Mizutani Scissors World. A mutual friend in Tokyo drew our attention to Hirokazu Mizutani. At that time, this type of hairdressing scissor was already an insider tip in Japan.

Our friend, together with Hirokazu Mizutani, visited us in Baden-Baden to present his scissors. It was noticeable that the scissors were sold without a brand name. Hirokazu Mizutani reacted to our surprise: "Why a brand? It's enough if our scissors are good!" Nowadays, this is unimaginable! It was also noted that the scissors were not suitable for the European market due to their proportions. The cutting blades were too long, and the finger rings were too small. This is because different cutting techniques are used in Japan. Our interest was piqued, and Hirokazu Mizutani wanted to know everything. From then on, communication was constant. We knew the European hairdressing market well and knew what was in demand; after all, we could look back on 15 years of experience with Japanese hairdressing scissors.

With the help of numerous German hairdressers such as Thorsten Hussfeld, Peter Hartmann, Christian Sieferlinger, Olaf Krebs, Klaus Späth, Marco Budzinski, K.D. Kaiser and many others, we tested, checked, evaluated, and criticised. Every comment, no matter how small, was taken seriously. We searched for and found the steel and the perfect design that met our demands. Even Edina Peterli's wish for scissors made of noble rolled damask steel was fulfilled. The Mizutani scissors were now ready for the European market. The following years were characterised by continuous innovation. Hirokazu Mizutani brilliantly solved every challenge we presented to him. In the meantime, Mizutani received numerous industry awards for quality and design in Japan. We were still in the early days in Germany, but we always thought outside the box and questioned our work. So it was only a matter of time before people in the country also became aware of Mizutani scissors. In 2011, the time had come. A collection full of creative and innovative scissors revolutionised the global market for hairdressing scissors. The interest of hairdressers in Germany was overwhelming and catapulted our scissors to 1st place in the Salonstar 2011. That this victory was justified was confirmed by the renewed 1st place in the following year 2012. The Hirokazu Mizutani and all expectations of us were exceeded. It is time to thank all the hairdressers who made Mizutani a star.