OSAKA--The Airin district of this city's Nishinari Ward is home to flophouses for day laborers, hardly a canvas one might imagine a talented street graffiti artist to revel in.

Yet, stencil graffiti of children have turned up on street walls, drum cans and other spots in the district, also known as Kamagasaki, that blend in well with the neighborhood.

The street artworks adorn an area surrounding the Tobita Hondori Shotengai shopping streets, which are lined with bars and karaoke parlors. A 15-minute jaunt around the area turns up nine graffiti done in a similar style.

All the children featured in the artworks appear to be Asian. They include a smiling girl flashing a peace sign and a crouching boy looking ultra cool. One stares straight at the observer and another is sitting in an absent-minded way.

SAME TECHNIQUE AS BANKSY

The artworks, executed in the same distinctive stenciling technique for which Banksy is famed, involve producing an image by spraying pigment onto a surface.

Einosuke Hiratani, 73, a painter living in the ward who had studied art in France and had worked as a part-time lecturer at an art college in Japan, came across a graffiti image of a girl painted on a wall of an empty lot in early February. He went on to find another work every couple of days.

"There is a good balance between the wall or door on which the images are painted and the scale that the artist uses," Hiratani said. "The human figure emerges in a three-dimensional setting, which can be startling."

Curious to learn if someone local might know by whom and when these graffiti were created, the reporter came across a woman who works at a nearby bar called Ginji who said she had met that very person.

"A foreign man who appeared to be in his 30s came up to me and asked, 'Would it be all right if I drew?'" she recalled.

The woman said the man visited the bar late last year with several Japanese friends and spent about two hours by himself painting a picture of a boy and a girl on an exterior wall.

She kindly referred the reporter to one of the Japanese men who visited the bar with the foreign visitor. He was a graffiti artist who goes by the name of Veryone and is involved with a project called Nishinari Wall Art Nippon, which aims to improve the image of Nishinari by spray painting art on walls.

Veryone said that the stencil artist was a German national who calls himself Tona. A close look at the artworks revealed that each piece was signed with his name. Veryone said he met Tona through an acquaintance, adding that he urged the German artist to work in Nishinari as the community embraces graffiti art.

Digging into Tona's background, the reporter learned that he was invited to join the Wall Art Festival in Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture, which is aimed at connecting schools and communities with art, last November.

Kyoshin Kusunoki, 40, head of the festival's executive committee, described Tona as an upstanding young man who always has a ready smile.

"Tona's subjects are children who not only smile cheerfully. They can also look gloomy," Kusunoki said. "He told me that he wanted to portray how children are trying hard to live their lives in spite of their various circumstances."

Tona's designs featured in his graffiti in Nishinari are showcased on a website of a gallery based in Germany. He is originally from the German city of Hamburg and holds exhibitions in Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa, according to the website.

‘IT’S ME’

The reporter found works created by Tona in Nishinari on his Instagram account and sent him an e-mail to request an interview.

He sent a reply on March 9.

When asked if he created the graffiti art in Nishinari, he said "Yes."

Tona said he came to Japan late last year and spent a few weeks in Nishinari to finish 20 or so art pieces.

As for his impression of Nishinari, Tona said: "As I am always looking for decay and rugged textures on the walls, Nishinari was (a) pretty perfect spot to put up my artworks."

Tona said he started creating stencil graffiti in 2002. "I try to leave a mark everywhere I go. That's the essence of street art."

In addition to Nishinari, Tona has created graffiti art in Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukushima, producing at least 100 pieces in Japan alone.

His principal subjects are children. The German artist said he takes photos of children to make the stencils.

"My focus is on children because they don't wear an 'emotional mask' in daily life and show an unfiltered truth," Tona said.