Cutting hair short in Japan

I'm sure that to some of us while watching a drama, anime or reading a manga have found a moment when one of the characters cuts their hair dramatically to either move on happily after a sad event or because they were forced to after doing something unforgivable.  To me, at least this struck me as unusual as I had never heard or seen it happen before.  Turns out this tradition comes from the ancient times in Asia, not just Japan, where hair was once of the symbols of stature and having to cut your hair symbolized being banished or shunned from your home.  In the modern age hair is no longer a symbol of stature and having long or short hair is a choice rather than a requirement, but to cut your hair short after a bad event means to forget the past, leaving behind the bad things and start anew.  This, of course, is symbolism and does not necessarily mean that every Japanese woman that cuts her hair has had something awful happen to her.  So don't go and feel bad for her after a haircut.