Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Asian Students Alliance AAPI Advocacy Week 2018, February 5 - 9 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Students Alliance will present its second annual AAPI Advocacy Week from February 5 through February 9. Events include advocacy workshops and a performance by LA-based rapper Dumbfoundead. Tickets for the Dumbfoundead performance on February 9 are free for Pitt students and $10 for others, and are available at the William Pitt Union Ticket Office.

UPMC hiring bilingual Chinese-English administrative assistant for Squirrel Hill office.

University of Pittsburgh Physicians is hiring a Chinese-English administrative assistant for its Squirrel Hill Family Practice office.
The University of Pittsburgh Physician's is seeking an Admin Assistant - Associate at our Squirrel Hill location! This individual will provide administrative support to the department and also all practicing professionals. Proficiency in both English and Chinese preferred. This is a Monday through Friday, daylight position. Apply today!!

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

HCL Technologies hiring Bilingual Japanese Product Analyst for position onsite at Google.

HCL Technologies is hiring a Bilingual Japanese Product Analyst for a position working onsite at Google in Larimer. The posting, via Monster.com:
Billingual Japanese Product Identity Analyst is a full-time job through HCL America, Inc. onsite at Google Pittsburgh. This position requires entrepreneurial drive to contribute to the long-term growth of online shopping by performing in-depth research, analyzing product specification data, using highly technical internal tools and processes to manage and enhance a large repository of knowledge about products. It is part of a fast-paced environment, partnering closely with operations and engineering teams.

2016 Japanese animated movie A Silent Voice (聲の形) returns to Pittsburgh with English dub, February 24.



The 2016 anime film A Silent Voice (聲の形), which opened in the US in October, will return to the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on February 24. A synopsis of the film from the distributor:
The story begins with a deaf elementary school girl named Shoko Nishimiya, who transfers to a new school and meets a boy named Shoya Ishida. Shoya, who is not deaf, leads the school in bullying Shoko over her disability. The bullying escalates, and so Shoko transfers to another school. Immediately, the class and even Shoya's closest friends, bully him for having bullied Shoko. Shoya loses contact with Shoko, and for years he suffers the consequences of his guilt. Upon entering high school, Shoya finally decides he must find Shoko, determined to make amends for what he did in elementary school and to become Shoko's friend. Along the way, he meets new and old faces, and struggles with many complicated relationships and feelings.
A 2:00 pm show will be dubbed in English, while the 4:30 pm show will have English subtitles; tickets for the latter are currently available online. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

Monday, January 29, 2018

2017 Taiwanese dark comedy The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯) in Pittsburgh, March 2 through 8.



The 2017 Taiwanese film The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯) will play at the Regent Square Theater from March 2 through 8, Pittsburgh Filmmakers announced today. A November South China Morning Post review has a summary:
The debut feature from Taiwanese documentarian Huang Hsin-yao is an acerbic satire of small-town corruption that has earned awards attention, including 10 nominations (one for best picture) at this month’s Golden Horse Awards. The Great Buddha+ follows a pair of frustrated labourers who find themselves surrounded by businessmen and local officials throwing around more money than they could accumulate in a lifetime.

Pickle (Cres Chuang I-tseng) is a middle-aged security guard at a factory that makes bronze Buddha statues. Living with his ailing mother, his only pleasure comes from best friend Belly Button (Bamboo Chen Chu-sheng), a recycler who brings him leftover food each night and, if he’s lucky, an old porno magazine to help wile away the small hours.

One night, they decide to watch footage from the dash-cam in the Mercedes of Pickle’s wealthy boss, Kevin (Leon Dai Li-ren). In among numerous steamy encounters and grovelling phone calls, they uncover a dark secret that could change all of their lives.
Showtimes are available online, though tickets are only available for purchase at the door. The Regent Square Theater is located at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) in the neighborhood of the same name.

Poster presentation with visiting Chinese scholars at the Institute for International Studies in Education, February 1 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Institute for International Studies in Education will host a poster presentation featuring two visiting scholars from China on February 1. The event runs from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in 4119 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Japanese-language yoga sessions in Bethel Park in February.



Yoga Innovations in Bethel Park will present Power Yoga in Japanese sessions on Thursdays in February. The sessions run from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, and the studio is located at 102 Broughton Rd. (map).

2001's Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉) at AMC Loews Waterfront, February 4.



The 2001 film Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater on February 4, part of the Classic Movie Nights series. The series organizer writes:
Widely considered to be one of, if not, the best anime ever made, the masterpiece that was the Cowboy Bebop anime series was originally intended to be a single movie but, when they got the go ahead for a series instead, they made it with the idea that each individual episode was it's own mini-movie.

With the success of the show, they finally got the go-ahead to make a full-length feature and the results are magnificent in both presentation, quality, and artistic merit.

I've been trying to start showing anime here for over SIX months and have constantly run in to roadblock after roadblock...so this is an extra-special event and I am incredibly excited to put this show on...
The show starts at 2:30 pm on the 4th, and tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Friday, January 26, 2018

Upcoming film Operation Red Sea (红海行动), sequel to 2016's Operation Mekong, in Pittsburgh in February.



The upcoming Chinese-Hong Kong film Operation Red Sea (红海行动) will play in Pittsburgh from February 23. The production company provides a synopsis:
The Chinese Navy’s Jiaolong (“Sea Dragon”) Assault Team is famed for its skill in getting the job done. After its success in rescuing a cargo ship hijacked by pirates off the Somalia coast, the team is assigned an even more perilous mission. A coup in a North African republic has left local Chinese residents in danger, circumstances further complicated by a terrorist plot to obtain nuclear materials. The situation could prove fatal to the hostages and disastrous to the entire region, and presents Jiaolong with a challenge that threatens the very existence of the team and its members.
Tickets and showtime information is not yet available. Operation Red Sea will play at AMC Loews Waterfront in West Homestead (map), which will also play upcoming Chinese films The Monkey King 3 (西遊記女兒國) and Monster Hunt 2 (捉妖記2) next month.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

国際機関就職ガイダンス2018, January 29 at Chatham University.



Chatham University will host Keisuke Fukuda (First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations) on January 29 for a Japanese-language career seminar on working for international organizations.

Pitt magazine profiles ten influential Korean alumni.



The Winter 2018 issue of Pitt magazine profiles ten Korean alumni of the University of Pittsburgh influential in growing education, business, and government in South Korea.
[Byong Hyon] Kwon was part of the first wave of South Korean students at Pitt. Today, South Korea has a large and organized Pitt alumni base. Its members include leaders in education, technology, government, the private sector, nursing, and public health. They are part of the colossal effort that turned the world's second-poorest nation into the 11th largest economy---in just three decades.
The print magazine has a lengthy profile on Kwon---a 1968 GSPIA graduate, former Korean ambassador to China, and president of Future Forest---and snapshots on nine others; the Pitt magazine website has full profiles on everyone.
There have been many other influential Koreans at Pitt over the years. Young Woo Kang, who died in 2012, is one example. Kang earned his PhD from the School of Education in 1976, and was the first blind Korean student to ever earn a doctorate.

City-Paper covers Pittsburgh's first Seijin no Hi.

The Pittsburgh City-Paper's Blogh has a write-up of the Coming of Age Day, Seijin no Hi, held at Pitt on January 10.
On Jan. 10, about 30 participants gathered together in the ballroom of Pitt’s University Club. Many were dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, but others wore western business attire. Young men and women participated, and the Japanese international students were grateful for the chance to celebrate this right of passage.

“Before we came here, we couldn't expect this,” said Nika Tanimoto, a 20-year-old student from Hiroshima, at the event. “It is great, a special event.” Tanimoto’s friend and fellow international student, Manami Wada, said the event is an “honor” for her.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

2018 Greater Pittsburgh Lunar New Year Gala, February 10 in Wexford.



The Chinese Association for Science and Technology - Pittsburgh Chapter and the Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center will present its 2018 Greater Pittsburgh Lunar New Year Gala on February 10 at Marshall Middle School in Wexford.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Cinema series at Row House Cinema in March.



Four classic kung fu movies will play at the Row House Cinema in March, part of its Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Cinema series that highlights the legendary Hong Kong production company. The lineup includes 1966's Come Drink With Me (大醉俠), 1978's Five Deadly Venoms (五毒), 1982's Legendary Weapons of China (十八般武艺), and 1978's The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (少林三十六房).



Tickets and showtime information have not been announced yet. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) at Regent Square Theater once more, January 28.



Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) will play at the Regent Square Theater on January 28. It has been playing there each Sunday in January as part of a collaboration between Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Silk Screen Asian Arts & Cultural Organization that highlights a different classic Asian film each month. The Criterion Collection summarizes the film:
A grand-scale adventure as only Akira Kurosawa could make one, The Hidden Fortress stars the inimitable Toshiro Mifune as a general charged with guarding his defeated clan’s princess (a fierce Misa Uehara) as the two smuggle royal treasure across hostile territory. Accompanying them are a pair of bumbling, conniving peasants who may or may not be their friends. This rip-roaring ride is among the director’s most beloved films and was a primary influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars. The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s trademark deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action, and compassionate humanity.
The show starts at 6:00 pm at the Regent Square Theater (map), and tickets are only available for purchase at the door.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Upcoming Chinese movies The Monkey King 3 (西遊記女兒國), Monster Hunt 2 (捉妖記2) in Pittsburgh from February 16.



New installments of a pair of hit Chinese film franchises have recently been announced for Pittsburgh: The Monkey King 3 (西遊記女兒國) and Monster Hunt 2 (捉妖記2) will play at the Waterfront from February 16.

Friday, January 19, 2018

2017 Chinese movie that out-drew The Last Jedi, The Ex-File: The Return of the Exes (前任3:再见前任) in Pittsburgh, from January 19.



The 2017 Chinese movie The Ex-File: The Return of the Exes (前任3:再见前任) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from today, January 19. It was the top-grossing movie in China its first two weeks, and out-drew Star Wars: The Last Jedi in the latter's first week in the country. A South China Morning Post review provides a brief summary of the low-budget romantic comedy:
Directed by Tian Yusheng, the story is about two lengthy break-ups between two couples who are also friends with each other, and how the ex-boyfriends indulged themselves re-living the bachelor’s dream until their ex-girlfriends reappeared to upend their lives.
Tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) at AMC Loews Waterfront, Row House Cinema from today.



The 2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花), which debuted in the region at local Cinemark theaters yesterday, will at the Row House Cinema as part of it's New Animated Films series from January 19 through 25. It will also run at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from today. The distributor provides a summary:
From Academy Award®-nominated Hiromasa Yonebayashi – animator on Studio Ghibli masterpieces Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo, and director of When Marnie Was There and The Secret World of Arrietty – comes a dazzling new adventure about a young girl named Mary, who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night.

Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. Together the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds, and far away to Endor College – a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try to set things right.

Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 classic children’s book The Little Broomstick, Mary and The Witch’s Flower is an action-packed film full of jaw-dropping imaginative worlds, ingenious characters, and the simple, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find a place in the world.
Tickets for the Row House Cinema's screenings are available online via the theater's website. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map). Tickets for the Waterfront shows are available online via Fandango. That theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

New Taiwanese restaurant Lucky Nine 好運來 coming to Squirrel Hill.



Signage just went up for Lucky Nine (好運來), a new Taiwanese restaurant coming to Squirrel Hill. It's located in the basement of 5824 Forbes Ave. (map), what was most recently The Mediterranean Grill. Though "Grand Opening" posters are up, it is not yet open. Lucky Nine will join two other Taiwanese restaurants, Rose Tea Cafe and Taiwanese Bistro Cafe 33, in the neighborhood.

Three events with Samir Lakhani, Eco-Soap Bank Founder and University of Pittsburgh alumnus, February 9 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh will host alumnus and Top 10 CNN Hero of 2017 Samir Lakhani for three events on February 9 as an "Race, Gender and Leadership Series: Health & Entrepreneurship in Asia" series. Lakhani will give a keynote address from 12:00 pm at Alumni Hall. From 3:00 to 4:30 pm is an "Healthy Global Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship: How to work responsibly with/as an international NGO?" discussion in the Willian Pitt Union.
An informal dialogue between Pitt students and Mr. Lakhani on best practices when seeking employment with non-profits or developing new NGOs to serve the needs of developing countries.
And from 5:00 to 7:30 pm, the Katz Graduate School of Business will host his "Fireside Chat: Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship".
Pitt Business is proud to host a fireside chat with University of Pittsburgh alumnus Samir Lakhani, founder of Eco-Soap Bank and a Top 10 CNN Hero of 2017. In this special discussion, Lakhani will highlight the power of social entrepreneurship to make positive health, economic, and environmental impacts on the developing world. Pitt Business Associate Dean Audrey J. Murrell will serve as moderator, as issues of ethics, leadership, health, and global entrepreneurship in the 21st century are discussed.
The events are free and open to the public, but both the keynote address and the Fireside Chat require advance registration.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Chinese-speaking online Spanish tutor.



Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) announced today an opening for a Chinese-speaking online Spanish tutor (西班牙语辅导老师).

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Mazinger Z: Infinity (劇場版 マジンガーZ / INFINITY) in Pittsburgh, February 11 and 12.



The 2017 film adaptation of the 1970s manga and TV series Mazinger Z: Infinity (劇場版 マジンガーZ / INFINITY) is getting a limited theatrical release in the US next month, and will play at several Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters on February 11 and 12.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring for three Mandarin-speaking IT positions.



Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has new openings for three Mandarin-speaking IT positions: 大数据平台高级架构工程师, Hadoop高级工程师, and NLP高级工程师. WholeRen is headquartered at 3434 Forbes Ave. 2nd Floor in Oakland (map).

"State Fictions and the Friction of Frontier Terrain: Songpan and the Huanglong Pilgrimage Since Ming Times," January 19 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Donald Sutton of Carnegie Mellon University and his talk "State Fictions and the Friction of Frontier Terrain: Songpan and the Huanglong Pilgrimage Since Ming Times" on January 19.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) at Cinemark theaters January 18, Row House Cinema January 19 through 25.



The 2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) will play at Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters on January 18, 2018 and at the Row House Cinema as part of it's New Animated Films series from January 19 through 25. The distributor provides a summary:
From Academy Award®-nominated Hiromasa Yonebayashi – animator on Studio Ghibli masterpieces Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo, and director of When Marnie Was There and The Secret World of Arrietty – comes a dazzling new adventure about a young girl named Mary, who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night.

Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. Together the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds, and far away to Endor College – a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try to set things right.

Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 classic children’s book The Little Broomstick, Mary and The Witch’s Flower is an action-packed film full of jaw-dropping imaginative worlds, ingenious characters, and the simple, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find a place in the world.
Tickets for both the dubbed and subtitled versions at Cinemark theaters are currently available online; Pittsburgh-area Cienmark theaters showing the film are Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills. Tickets for the Row House Cinema's screenings are available online as well.

2017 Japanese movie Gintama (銀魂) in Pittsburgh, January 20.



The 2017 Japanese movie Gintama (銀魂) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on January 20.
Based on the best-selling action comedy manga by Hideaki Sorachi, GINTAMA takes place in an alternate Edo-period Japan, where an Alien race has taken control, forcing Samurai to lay down their swords. Once feared as the “White Demon,” former samurai Gintoki Sakata now works as an everyday handyman – until a master swordsman tasks Gintoki and his friends with finding the cursed sword Benizakura to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Packed with the sword- swinging sci-fi action and offbeat humor that have made the manga a classic, GINTAMA is bound to delight both fans and anyone looking for a journey to a visually-stunning universe where fantastical action lurks just around every corner.
Released in Japan in July, Gintama is the third-highest grossing domestic film in Japan this year. Tickets for the two screenings, 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm, are available online.

The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

MEPPI Japan Lecture Series - Tokyo, One of the Safest Cities in the World, January 18.


"Tokyo" by kalcul (Creative Commons).

The first MEPPI Japan Lecture Series of 2018, "Tokyo, One of the Safest Cities in the World" will be held at Carnegie Mellon University on January 18. The lecture series is presented by the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc.
Why is Tokyo so safe? After devoting 15 years to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Police Inspector Naruomi Ebitani now works at Carnegie Mellon University researching information security. From his experience in both countries and his police officer’s perspective, he will address the differences between policing and crime in Japan and the United States.
The lecture runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall and is free and open to the public. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Storytelling with Motoko at Alphabet City in April.


via motoko.folktales.net.

The City of Asylum's Alphabet City will host Japanese storyteller Motoko on Saturday, April 7.

Ryoichi Kurokawa and Novi_sad at Wood Street Galleries, from January 26.


from unfold.alt, via ryoichikurokawa.com.

Three installations by Ryoichi Kurokawa—two solo and one collaboration with Novi_sad—will be at Wood Street Galleries downtown from January 26 through April 8. Opening night will be free and open to the public from 5:30 to 10:00 pm as part of January's Gallery Crawl.
Japanese artist, born in 1978, lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Kurokawa’s works take on multiple forms such as installation works, recordings, and concert pieces. He composes the time sculpture with the field recordings and the digital generated structures, and reconstructs architecturally the audiovisual phenomenon. In recent years, his works are shown at international festivals and museums including Tate Modern[UK], Venice Biennale[IT], Palais de Tokyo[FR], Transmediale[DE], EMPAC[US], YCAM[JP] and Sonar[ES]. In 2010, he was awarded the Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica in the Digital Musics & Sound Art category.
The Wood Street Galleries website has lengthy introductions to the exhibitions. Wood Street Galleries is located at 601 Wood St. (map).

Monday, January 8, 2018

Mitski at Cattivo, March 16.



NYC-based Japanese-American singer-songwriter Mitski will play at Cattivo in Pittsburgh on March 16. A September 2017 Pitcfork podcast calls her "one of the sharpest young voices in indie rock" and continues:
her raw and evocative lyricism meeting meticulous and sprawling musical ambition.

She studied studio composition at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, where she recorded her first two albums, 2012’s Lush and 2013’s Sad, New Career in Business as student projects. With graduation came a move to Brooklyn, where her 2014 breakthrough, the blistering and relatable Bury Me at Makeout Creek, established her as a favorite of the DIY scene and beyond. With 2016’s Puberty 2, Mitski’s star power came into total focus, through her visuals, her outspokenness, and most of all, her brutally honest songs. She’s been traveling the world on tour ever since.
Tickets for the all-ages show will go on sale at 10:00 am on Wednesday, January 10.
Cattivo is located at 116 44th Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Korea Economic Institute's "The Future of Korea" in Pittsburgh, January 17.

The Korea Economic Institute of America [KEIA] and World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh will present "The Future of Korea" on January 17. A profile of this outreach program, from the KEIA:
KEI's Future of Korea is an outreach program that strengthens interest in U.S.-Korea relations with community members, scholars, and students outside of the DC metropolitan area. KEI hosts a series of six to ten programs annually with leading local World Affairs Councils throughout the United States.

The Future of Korea program features panel presentations by a team of up to three people, usually one member of KEI, a representative from the U.S. State Department Korea Desk, and a diplomat from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. The panel addresses all aspects of U.S.-Korea relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula, including political, economic, and security issues, followed by a question and answer session. In addition to the core event, the program often includes a similar panel discussion at a local university or high school and various media events. Other events are added depending on the wishes of the local host organization. These successful and popular programs have attracted as many as 2,000 participants in some cities.
The panel presentation will run from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm in the Founders Room of the Duquesne Club downtown (map). Tickets are $30 for World Affairs Council members and $45 for non-members.

Movie & Mumble with 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance (Shall we ダンス?), January 13 in Cranberry.



The 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance (Shall we ダンス?) will play in Cranberry as the year's first installment of the Movie & Mumble series hosted by the Cranberry Area Diversity Network.
He's an overworked accountant. She's an accomplished dancer. Passion is about to find two unlikely partners. The 1996 Japanese romantic comedy “Shall We Dance?” will launch the 2018 Movie & Mumble series. No reservations are necessary. The PG-rated feature, with English subtitles, will be followed by an open discussion led by Elena Geil, a former resident of Japan.
The event runs from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Cranberry Public Library (map), and is free and open to the public.

Conversational Chinese and Chinese Culture at Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Thursday evenings.

A Conversational Chinese and Chinese Culture group meets at Mt. Lebanon Public Library Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:45 pm.
Join us every Thursday to practice conversational Chinese and explore Chinese culture. All levels welcome.

Participants are asked to donate $30, prorated, to Mt. Lebanon Public Library for each ten-week session. Please check the Event Calendar for potential schedule changes.
Those interested may contact Charlene Zang at czang [at] cmu.edu for more information. The library is located at 16 Castle Shannon Blvd. (map).

Saturday, January 6, 2018

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble film, performance by AppalAsia at Mattress Factory, January 23.



The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, following the cellist Ma and a collective of musicians from across the world, will play at the Mattress Factory art museum on January 23. It will be followed by a performance by AppalAsia,"a Pittsburgh-based ensemble of dulcimer, erhu, banjo, and vocals that combines the influence of their folk-roots with original composition and inspired improvisation."

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Sashiko Embroidery workshop at Carnegie Library - Squirrel Hill, January 31.


by littlelixie (2010, Creative Commons)


There are limited spaces available for a Sashiko Embroidery workshop at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill on Wednesday, January 31.
Sashiko is an ancient form of Japanese embroidery that utilizes large, simple stitches to create intricate designs. In this class, students will learn how to control their stitches and will practice on two different designs of their choice. Each student will have two small sashiko samplers to finish at home. Beginners welcome!
The class is taught by local artist, designer, and instructor Rebekah Joy.

The event runs from 6:00 to 7:45 pm. The event is free but registration is required and can be completed on the library's website. The Carnegie Library branch in Squirrel Hill is located at 5801 Forbes Ave. (map).

"Journey to Japan," February 18 at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland.



The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Main branch in Oakland will host "Journey to Japan" on Sunday, February 18.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Japanese Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人の日) at Pitt for students turning 20, January 10.


Kasai does 成人の日 in 2010.

A large cohort of students from Yasuda Women's University is studying at Pitt's English Language Institute this fall and will miss the traditional Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人の日) in Hiroshima next month, so the Asian Studies Center will hold its own ceremony on January 10. The Asian Studies Center introduces Pitt's ceremony:
A local government official will preside over the ceremony here in Pittsburgh and a Yasuda University student will give the student address. The ceremony is open not only to the ELI students, but also Pitt students, especially those studying Japanese, who are turning 20 (between April 2, 2017 and April 1, 2018).
And Japan Visitor introduces the day and its traditions:
Seijin Shiki or 成人式 could be translated as 'Coming of Age Day Ceremony' in English. Seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age Day) is a Japanese public holiday that occurs on every second Monday of January.

Coming of Age Day or Adult's Day honors every person that has turned 20 years old over the past year. When young people reach twenty they officially become adults in Japanese society and they now have responsibilities as well as newfound liberties: such as being able to drink, smoke, go to hostess bars, gamble and to drive legally. The voting age was lowered from 20 to 18 in 2015.

The girls always wear gorgeous and very expensive kimono, although most admit to having rentals as the outfit is worth up to 1,000,000 yen. The boys usually wear a regular suit and tie but a few will wear traditional Japanese dress.
It runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in Ballroom B of the University Club (map), and those interested should email asia [at] pitt.edu.

2016 Japanese movie Harmonium (淵に立つ at Carnegie Library in Oakland, January 7.



This month month's International Cinema Sunday will feature the 2016 Japanese movie Harmonium (淵に立つ), which played at 2017's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival. From a 2016 Variety review:
Even before the arrival of the mysterious Mr. Yasaka (Tadanobu Asano), the marriage of Toshio (Kanji Furutachi), the owner of a small machine shop, and his self-effacing wife, Akie (Mariko Tsutsui), appears passionless. Polite but distant, they share meals and the care of their small daughter, Hotaru, with so little intimacy that when Toshio offers Yasaka a room and a job, he doesn’t even ask his wife’s opinion. All too soon, though, he’ll have cause to regret his impulsiveness.
The movie plays from 2:00 to 4:30 pm at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's main branch in Oakland and is free and open to the public. The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) at Regent Square Theater, Sundays in January.



Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Silk Screen Asian Arts & Cultural Organization will show a different classic Asian film each month, with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) featured in January. The Criterion Collection summarizes the film:
A grand-scale adventure as only Akira Kurosawa could make one, The Hidden Fortress stars the inimitable Toshiro Mifune as a general charged with guarding his defeated clan’s princess (a fierce Misa Uehara) as the two smuggle royal treasure across hostile territory. Accompanying them are a pair of bumbling, conniving peasants who may or may not be their friends. This rip-roaring ride is among the director’s most beloved films and was a primary influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars. The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s trademark deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action, and compassionate humanity.
Kurosawa's 1958 film will play each Sunday this month; all shows start at 6:00 pm at the Regent Square Theater (map), and tickets are only available for purchase at the door.

2001's Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉) at AMC Loews Waterfront, February 4.



The 2001 film Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater on February 4, part of the Classic Movie Nights series. The series organizer writes:
Widely considered to be one of, if not, the best anime ever made, the masterpiece that was the Cowboy Bebop anime series was originally intended to be a single movie but, when they got the go ahead for a series instead, they made it with the idea that each individual episode was it's own mini-movie.

With the success of the show, they finally got the go-ahead to make a full-length feature and the results are magnificent in both presentation, quality, and artistic merit.

I've been trying to start showing anime here for over SIX months and have constantly run in to roadblock after roadblock...so this is an extra-special event and I am incredibly excited to put this show on...
The show starts at 2:30 pm on the 4th, and tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Free Chinese, Japanese, Korean classes in Pittsburgh.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is an invaluable source of free and enriching programming for people of all ages. Most relevant to this site are the free Chinese, Japanese, and Korean courses at an increasing number of branches. The start of a new year is an excellent time to revisit this list of free courses available for children, complete novices, high-beginners, intermediate learners, and advanced speakers.

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