As a child, Yoshie Kimura sold flowers on the streets of Tokyo’s Ginza district to help her family stave off starvation in the aftermath of World War II.

Now 80, Kimura can still be seen outdoors in the glittering area at night wearing an apron, holding bouquets of red and pink roses, and shouting at passers-by, “Would you like some flowers?”

Throughout her life, Kimura has always been drawn back to the work and the district.

The “last flower woman in Ginza,” as she calls herself, is determined to continue working while the district recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

FLOWERS FOR FOOD

Born during World War II in Tokyo’s Minato Ward and raised in the Asakusa district of Taito Ward, Kimura was the youngest of three sisters.

After the war ended, residents in the capital struggled to get by amid the destruction from the bombing raids.

Kimura’s family also faced internal strife.

“Our father cheated on our mother and left our home, so we had a tough time finding something to eat every day,” she said. “I worked with my older sisters to sell flowers in hopes of sustaining our household.”

Such postwar work among children was apparently common in commercial zones of Tokyo, such as Ginza, Yurakucho and Shinbashi.

Haruo Oka, a singer from the Showa Era (1926-1989), released his hit tune “Tokyo no Hanauri Musume” (Tokyo flower-selling girl) in 1946.

An Asahi Shimbun article in the morning Tokyo edition on Nov. 13, 1952, reported on the results of a survey on the conditions of young street vendors, including a 4-year-old girl selling flowers.

Kimura was 13 when she and her sisters asked a friend who sold flowers on streets in Ginza to introduce them to the business.

She worked as a flower hawker around Ginza until she turned 20, then practiced typewriting in English and found a job at a trading house.

She got married at age 25 and had three children. After the couple split up more than 40 years ago, she returned to Ginza.

“My daughter once told me to stop selling flowers, calling my occupation ‘shameful,’” Kimura said. “I argued back, ‘You were only able to enter college because I earned money by selling flowers.’”

She also kept selling flowers after her adult children moved out.

Kimura works in Ginza from 8 p.m. through 11 p.m. except on weekends and national holidays. 
Many of her customers are patrons of hostess bars and other nightlife establishments, as well as their staff members.

Her bouquets cost 1,000 yen ($6.80) to 3,000 yen.

Knowing the locations of around 3,000 bars, restaurants and stores in Ginza, she willingly guides confused customers to their destinations. She said she takes at least 10,000 steps a day.

One visitor to Tokyo who was impressed by Kimura was Ammar Al-Beik, a Syrian film director.

He encountered Kimura and produced a documentary about her titled “La Dolce Tokyo.”

Although the movie was screened in Japan, Kimura said she has not watched it.

“He bought many bouquets and filmed me selling flowers in Ginza,” she said. “We hugged each other at the end, and that’s all. A customer who viewed the film told me about it, but I had no interest.”

RECOVERY FROM PANDEMIC

Kimura said the already ritzy Ginza district had continued to flourish. She said she once saw a large white Mercedes-Benz car with a red bow parked in front of a prestigious hostess club. It was a present for the club’s proprietress.

But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

“Less than half of the drinking establishments remain operational,” Kimura said. “Every day when I am walking, I check their signs to see if they are still open.”

Kimura said she suspended her own operations but only for a month or so.

“I love working, and staying indoors will be of little help,” she said. “I ate garlic and pickled ume every day for my health. Although I walked around the town, I was not infected.”

She estimates that only half of the normal customers have returned to Ginza. Company executives and other wealthy patrons have yet to reappear, she said.

Kimura said that as long as she can stand up, she will continue selling flowers.

“I love Ginza,” she said. “Bars and eateries and their customers in the district represent Japan’s cutting edge, and simply looking at them is fun.

“Selling flowers allows me to encounter familiar patrons and staff.”