When Yuka Konno started her business of “turning humans into flowers” – Hananingen, 3 years ago, she had never predicted the COVID lockdown or that she would welcome a new member to her family.
But nothing has stopped this mother of three, from pursuing her dream of bringing happiness and smiles to people through flowers.
Hananingen, which literally translates into “human flower” is an art of arranging fresh flowers on people’s head. Created by artist, Hikaru Seino in Sapporo Japan, the art has gradually grown in popularity throughout the world.
Yuka was a recipient of the Non-retail/Studio Florist Awards, at this year’s Sydney Market’s Fresh Awards, which celebrates the success, hard work and determination of local business owners and their staff.
Hananingen wins non-retail/studio award at Sydney Market's Fresh Awards Credit: Fresh Awards
“It reaffirmed what I believed in, and that what I was doing was not wrong” , Yuka tells SBS Japanese.
She says getting people’s understanding about arranging flowers onto people’s head did take time. “A lot of explaining” she adds.
Yuka arranges fresh flowers on people's heads to create "hananingen" or human flower Credit: Kimiko MIKUNI
Recently, Yuka travelled to Queensland for a pop-up Hananingen session with her 4-month-old son.
The trip has given her new confidence, further expanding her dream to bring the joy of flowers to people all over Australia.
She plans to bring Hananingen to Melbourne in the coming months.
For the full interview with Yuka Konno, listen from below.
火木土の夜10時はおやすみ前にSBSの日本語ラジオ！
ポッドキャストから過去のストーリーを聴くこともできます。
