Vintage Levis at Rummage Sale

People always ask me what I to do make money in LA while I am searching for the Smiths. I do two things. I sell my artwork and t-shirts, and I also buy vintage american clothes to send back to Japan. Vintage American clothes used to be very popular all over japan in the 90's. Now it is only popular among certain collectors. I go to American garage sales and flea markets and look for things to send to my friends who have stores.

Last Saturday I found some Levis from the early 60's. These are called Big E because they have a capital E on the levi tag. Modern ones have a lower case e.

This pair of pants is called 501 S Type and in good condition can sell for $400-$600 (used to sell for over $1000) depending on size, color and other things. My pair is not in very good condition. It smells like a cat has been living inside of it for many years. I wonder where that cat went. I think I will sell this one for $100-$150. Right now Japanese yen is very strong, so $100 is only 9000yen.

I also got the 557 Levi Big E Jacket. This is the third version of the levi jacket. It's not so valuable now...but it used to sell for $500. Maybe I can get $50-$100 for it. This jacket must have been worn by the same smelly kitty kat who wore the jeans.

Ken Tanaka -Celebrity Beefsteak at the farmer's market

One of my favorite things about life in Los Angeles is the farmer's market. There are markets all over the city on different days and you can find handsome and friendly fruits all over. Today I saw a sign for Celebrity Beefsteak. I thought this was a very funny name for a tomato. Is this name only used in Los Angeles, where celebrity is so important. I wonder if I can find some celebrity bean sprouts too. I also have to take a load of trash to the Celebrity Garbage Dump.

I hope this celebrity tomato will get a star on the hollywood walk of fame. Maybe there will be a new reality tv show "Who is Hollywood's next Celebrity Beefsteak". It could be you.

Make Believe Surf in Japan's Oiso Long Beach Wave Pool

My youtube friend Ericsurf6, along with Hikosaemon and Nattopower took me to the Oiso Long Beach （大磯ロングビーチ）Water Park while I was visiting Hiratsuka in Kangawa, Japan. It was my first time in a wave pool and it was pretty difficult. It was lots of fun, but I think it's kind of funny to have a wave pool just a kilometer away from real, ocean waves.

Today, I surfed in Venice beach pier where the waves are 3-4 feet but very angry. One of them took my surfboard (jacob the surfboard) and threw it into the sand. Now I have to spend $35 to fix poor Jacob, and I can't ride him till saturday.

Ken Tanaka Hand Printed T-shirts now at Royal-T

I recently made 4 different silkscreen t-shirts using some of my paintings. Each of these shirts is silk-screened by hand using no machines or evil robots. Even the screens are burned in the sun, the natural way.

Royal-T Maid Cafe and ARt SPace is now carrying my t-shirts and some of my framed prints.
There are various sizes for all the shirts from boys xl (which is good for girls) to mens XL.
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If you want one, you can email me at

Kentanakala attt geemail dottt com. and let me know your size, and preferred color.

Here are the four prints.

House CAT



Olympic Gold


Mistaken Bear

The Decision


I hope you like the shirts. I am hoping to start printing more and have them for sale in more shops in the US and Japan, and anywhere else that is interested in carrying them.

日本の祭り Japanese Summer Festival

Summer time in Japan is a time for lots of festivals all over the country. I try to make it to a festival every time I go back home. It is a very special atomsphere. Usually there are lots of food, drink and game stalls. Young people from the neighborhoods near by form groups and each group participates in the festival. sometimes they carry big floats called Mikoshi.

I went to the Hoshi Kudari festival in Takarazuka City near Osaka. It's a small, neighborhood festival that doesn't bring in too many people form far away. Some of the more famous matsuri, like Nebuta in Aomori attract tens of thousands of visitors from all over Japan. I have even heard of matsuri lovers who travel the country going from festival to festival.