Ken Taya (aka Enfu) talks to Bruce Rutledge

Enfu calls himself a “hamburger and sushi eatin’ samurai cowboy.”

His modern and bold prints are a mix of East and West. They speak to the diverse culture emerging in Seattle, especially to those of Japanese heritage. His Nihontown print (check it out at enfu.com or in a later issue of Ibuki) is a chaotic cityscape reminiscent of Bladerunner at first glance, but look deeper and all sorts of hybrid creations – is that Garfield the Cat or Doraemon? – emerge.

Or check out his latest creation, a cute little kewpie doll with goo-goo eyes and … yakuza tattoos? That’s the essence of Enfu’s art. At Sakura-Con, a huge anime festival held in Seattle this spring, kids in wild, colorful costumes flocked to Ken’s booth to buy one of his latest prints. Some of the hottest items at the four-day exhibition were the J-Chix, five fashionable if disengaged hip little girl-dolls he created for Blue C Sushi in Bellevue. Let’s meet them:

Kayo wears oversized glasses, a ski cap pulled down and lots of layers, topped off with a loose-fitting necktie. She’s Japan’s Annie Hall. Like her J-Chix sisters (and a certain famous Japanese cat), she has no mouth. “Male dolls like Daruma look surprised, angry, determined. But with these female dolls, I decided to give them no mouth to make them more docile, disengaged, blank, not expressive,” Enfu says.

Emi has her hair done up in dozens of hairpins. She wears a schoolgirl’s skirt, a shoulder bag, a red bow that looks somewhat like a cross, a necklace reminiscent of rosary beads and a downcast, peaceful, Buddha-like gaze. “The fashion – the sleeves, pants and skirts – were challenging to me,” Enfu says. “Some things looked weird because the dolls have no arms, so I relied more on accessories.”

Aya is a Japanese hippy chick wearing a Free Hugs sign, long blond hair, mismatched socks and holding a lollipop.

Yuki is reminiscent of ancient Japanese beauties with her long straight hair … but Yuki’s hair is white, and her tight and intricately tied bodice is decidedly modern, a shout-out to the Gothic Lolita crowd.

Finally, Eri is perhaps the most iconic of the five. Her schoolgirl outfit flows evenly to the ground and her large headphones almost look like a halo.

Enfu’s work has similarities with the work of LA-based kozyndan, but it also has the cultural and ethnic curiosity of Roger Shimomura. In future issues of Ibuki, we will be featuring more of this up-and-coming artist’s work. If you can’t wait until the next issue, check out his work online at enfu.com or visit Kobo @ Higo, the Japanese variety shop at 6th and Jackson in the International District.