In downtown New York City there is a traditional barber shop that still uses a classic chair as seating. I saw that on top of it online, with word KOKEN stamped into the metal footrests. After seeing some chair designs and further research there is a Japanese company which has existed since 1921, Takara Belmont, which makes the chair Koken Legacy modernized.

However, as Japanese-sounding as Koken is, that’s not where the name comes from. Ernest Koken was a German immigrant to the U.S. who wasn’t the first to develop a barbershop chair, but was the first to incorporate the hydraulic lift (in either 1900 or 1906, depending on who you listen to). Today you can still find Koken chairs on eBay, but prices are in the thousands.