>>19220684>**—Wow! The power of your hair.** **HIMAWARI:** Seriously—the way you put power into your hips and legs when swinging a sword, and the trajectory—if you apply that to swinging your hair, the power is completely different. I thought, *this is an amazing synergy.*
>**—Speaking of your super-long hair, which is part of your identity… is it true you’ve never cut it except the bangs since birth?** **HIMAWARI:** Yes (laughs). Except the bangs.
>**—Maintenance must be incredibly tough. The amount of shampoo…** **HIMAWARI:** It’s insane. I go *pssh pssh pssh!*—probably three times what others use. Hair oil consumption is brutal too. Before I know it, “Wait, it’s already gone!?” So when fans give me nice conditioner or hair oil as gifts, I’m *so* happy (laughs).
>**—(Laughs). We should ask the fans for that. In the ring, it’s both a weapon and a weakness since opponents grab it.** **HIMAWARI:** Exactly! It’s *way* too easy to grab. Everyone just grabs it right away. Figuring out how to prevent that is a challenge going forward.
>**—Why did you end up growing it this long in the first place?** **HIMAWARI:** This is super embarrassing, but… apparently, I was *completely bald* when I was born.
>**—Wait, really!?** **HIMAWARI:** Yes. Normally, babies have enough hair for a “fetal hair brush,” right? I didn’t even have that. My mom felt sorry for me and started growing it out—that’s how it began, apparently.
>**—And you just never found the right time to cut it.** **HIMAWARI:** Exactly. “Until elementary school entrance,” “until graduation,” “until coming-of-age ceremony”—it kept getting postponed with every milestone (laughs). Even after starting acting, for traditional Japanese roles, they’d say, “You can use your real hair, so don’t cut it.” So now, it’s something I’ve walked through life with—I’ll keep it forever.
