WAKAYAMA -- With firm determination in his mind, a totally deaf 18-year-old student from Wakayama is ready to advance to the national hairdressing contest in November.
Ryogo Kitano, who is studying hairdressing at the Wakayama Deaf School in Wakayama city, won a prize in Styling Collection 2018 in Wakayama in July, in which hairdressers and barbers from Wakayama Prefecture competed to display their skills. The prize -- which he won on his first attempt -- secured him a spot at the national championship in November in Yokohama.
"Being deaf doesn't matter, as long as you have ability," Kitano said confidently.
Kitano has been deaf since birth. He wanted to have a way to support himself and entered the hairdresser and barber course at the school, where students can learn the skills of the two related fields.
He has been absorbed in practice. With a strong sense of perseverance, the more he practiced, the better his skills and abilities became. "The sense of accomplishment was amazing when I was able to do something I had been unable to do," he said.
While he wanted to participate in the contest, he hesitated to enter at first. "None of the other participants had a disability. It was difficult for me to decide to join [the competition] with them."
He finally decided to enter because his supervisor gave him a supportive push toward the challenge. He started to practice very hard day after day, not only in his classes but also after school and even when he returned to the dormitory. He has been practicing for seven hours a day.
He chose the event to contend for superiority in the skill of winding a certain number of perm rods within 20 minutes. Suppressing nervousness, he concentrated on the winding. As a result, it was the best winding he had ever done.
Even doing his best, he never expected to win a prize. He said that when his name was announced at the award ceremony, he could not believe it. "Your skill at winding perm rods is the best compared with other participants," his supervisor said, praising him after the contest. Kitano was pleased, saying, "Everyone evaluated my skill, regardless of my disability."
Kitano said he used to be prone to saying, "I don't care." But now, he said, "I'll never say it again, because I know that practice leads me to success."
He is living a full life these days, practicing for the national championship in November. "I am looking forward to competing against the skills of others. I know that my ability is not enough, but I want to win," he said with a confident smile.
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