2012 Japanese film Thermae Romae (テルマエ・ロマエ) begins Maridon Museum's Spring Film Fest, March 14.

The Spring Film Series begins at the Maridon Museum in Butler on March 14 with the 2012 film Thermae Romae (テルマエ・ロマエ).

Progress on Oakland's TW Kitchen (台味廚坊).

A good amount of progress has been made on TW Kitchen (台味廚坊), a new Taiwanese restaurant coming to North Oakland. Signage first went up in December for the place offering "Taiwanese style bentos, noodles, soup, and more," and though it has not opened yet there is a new awning and signage. It will be located at 192 N. Craig St. (map), in what was most recently Millennial Cupcake and Parfait Bar.

North Korea and International Relations Panel, March 1 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will hold its next North Korea in Transition panel on March 1.

Join us for the first panel of the North Korea in Transition speaker series! This panel will focus on international relations, with discussion on North Korea's relationships with Japan, South Korea, China, the U.S., and East Asia as a whole. The goal of this panel is to develop a deeper understanding of the complex relations that have governed North Korea's interactions with the world not only by discussing politics, but by reaching beyond for a holistic perspective.

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This panel will also attempt to build off of the Trump-Kim summit, being held just days before our event. Be sure to join us for this timely discussion!

Panelists are Weston Konishi of the US-Japan Council; Professor William Brown of Georgetown University and the Korea Economic Institute of America; and Lisa Collins, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. The panel runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in 548 William Pitt Union (map) and is free and open to the public.

Lost in Ramen (ラーメン食いてぇ！) added to Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival.

The 2018 film Lost in Ramen (ラーメン食いてぇ！) is the latest addition to the 2019 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival at the Row House Cinema this March and April. The Anime News Network has a synopsis:

The manga's story centers on a ramen shop owner who decides to close his shop after his wife passes away; a food critic who gets stranded in the mountainous area of Xinjiang, China while doing research; and a female high school student who contemplates suicide due to the cruelty of her classmates. A bowl of ramen links them together as they restart their lives.

The movie will be part of the theater's Ramen Fest on March 29, with noodles from Lawrenceville's Ki Ramen. Tickets for the two screenings, and for the other films, are coming soon.

Yanlai Dance Academy spring performance "Drifting Feathers," March 2.

Yanlai Dance Academy will present this spring's performance "Drifting Feathers" on March 2.

This year, our dances range from classical Chinese dance of Hang Dynasty of 2 thousands of years ago - to ethnic folk dances of Xin Jiang, Mongol, Tibet, and Dai dance, where our audience will see the world of enthusiasm and passion. We hope our audience will enjoy the colorful, beautiful costumes, and the joyful and deep music.

The performance starts at 6:00 pm at the August Wilson Center in the Cultural District (map) and tickets are available online.

Japanese Pitt alumni to speak on "Careers in International Trade and Development," "Entrepreneurship in Japan" on March 5.

The University of Pittsburgh's International Business Center will host two talks on March 5 with Japanese alumni on the topics of international trade and entrepreneurship in Japan.

1931 Japanese silent film Jirokichi the Rat (御誂治郎吉格子) with live benshi performance, February 26 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 1931 Japanese silent film Jirokichi the Rat (御誂治郎吉格子) with a live benshi performance on February 26.

Once known as “poets of the dark," benshi brought silent films to life through commentary and vocal performance, giving voice to the characters on screen. As many as 8000 benshi were performing across the country and the Japanese empire by the 1930s, and their popularity—and power—slowed the introduction of sound film in Japan.

Join us to see internationally celebrated Kataoka Ichiro narrate a silent film, accompanied by pianist Tom Roberts.

The event starts at 5:30 pm in 125 Frick Fine Arts (map) and is free and open to the public.

"Ah so!" "Banzai." Pittsburgh Pirates and Chunichi Dragons.

Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh and Chunichi Dragons manager Wally Yonamine, 1975.

In 1975, the Chunichi Dragons spent spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Florida. The Dragons were the reigning Central League champions, and were managed by Japanese-American---and Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer---Wally Yonamine. A book on Yonamine, Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball, says the visit was a reward for his leading the team to the Central League championship.

For winning the pennant, Chunichi's board of directors gave the team two rewards. The first was a new clubhouse.

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The second was a trip to Florida for spring training. Yonamine made arrangements with Joe Brown, Pittsburgh's general manager, for the Dragons to train with the Pirates. The Dragons arrived in March, already in shape from their February camp at Hamamatsu, and played exhibition games against the Pirates and nearby Major League teams. Though everybody knew the American teams were not yet in top form, Chunichi did well, taking two of three games against Pittsburgh and beating the Chicago White Sox 1-0.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Mandarin-speaking Spanish tutors.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education and consulting company WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced openings for Mandarin-speaking Spanish tutors.

New Chinese film The Wandering Earth (流浪地球) in Pittsburgh through February 25.

The new Chinese movie The Wandering Earth (流浪地球), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 5 for the Lunar New Year, will stay in town through Monday, February 25. The South China Morning Post summarizes the movie, considered China's first big-budget science fiction film.

The film portrays how a group of intrepid Chinese astronauts save the world from the brink of annihilation due to the imminent destruction of the sun. Like Hollywood space movies where Americans are portrayed as the only ones capable of saving humanity, here Chinese astronauts are the sole adventurers among the global space community determined to complete the arduous task of fending off the apocalypse.

In spite of such overt patriotism, the film is spectacular for its ceaseless stream of hair-raising close-shave encounters and apocalyptic landscapes oozing desolation and despair. There is also a touching subplot involving family bonds at the centre of the mission to save the earth.

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.