Cutting off hair in ancient Asia (Japan, china, Korea & possibly some other Asian cultures) symbolizes being banished or rejected from their home. In the more modern age that is now, cutting long hair into a short cut means to forget the past, leaving the old and starting anew.
i was already feeling the seriousness of this post until the last gif asdfghjkl
See also Mr. Wu (Keone Young) at the end of Deadwood S2.
Mooncustafer 