Japanese cat cafe culture in Pitt Magazine.

The latest Pitt Magazine, a publication of the University of Pittsburgh, profiles PhD student Amanda Robinson and her study of Japanese cat cafes.

Talking About Asia: Charles Exley and "Sato Haruo and Modern Japanese Literature" at Pitt, April 13.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the next "Talking About Asia" installment on Wednesday, April 13, which will feature Dr. Charles Exley on the topic of "Sato Haruo and Modern Japanese Literature".

More looks at Korea's first Bruster's.

The Naver blog 무나문 has a lot of pictures of the first Bruster's Ice Cream in Korea, which opened in Cheonan on March 31.

2016 Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회), May 7 in Shadyside.

Last week we broke news of the 2016 Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회), coming to the Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside (map) on May 7. Today we have flyers!

OCA Youth Performance Ensemble Showcase 2016 (匹兹堡美华协会青少年舞蹈团公演预告), April 23.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization for Chinese Americans will host its Youth Performance Ensemble Showcase (匹兹堡美华协会青少年舞蹈团公演预告】) on April 23 at Carson Middle School in the North Hills.

Featuring Traditional Chinese Dance, Martial arts and Chinese YoYo by OCA, Qi Wu Dance Team, Tzu Chi Academy, and Win-Win Kung Fu

. . .

春暖花开的四月，一树桃花怒放在匹城。这是一支由匹兹堡美华协会青少年舞蹈团，旗.舞-中国风，慈济匹兹堡人文学校，双赢武术功夫文化中心组成的集古典舞，民族舞，武术，扯铃等拥有众多精彩节目的队伍，他们；将要在这春草碧绿繁花似锦的季节为您带来一场视觉和听觉的盛宴。精彩瞬间不容错过

Tickets are available online and cost $10 for general admission and $7 for OCA Pittsburgh members; children 12 and under accompanied by adult are free. Carson Middle School is located in McCandless Township (map), roughly 11 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh.

"5th Annual Tomodachi Festival : A Celebration of Japanese Culture" at Carnegie Library in Oakland, April 16.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania shares word of the 5th Annual Tomodachi Festival coming to the Carnegie Library in Oakland on April 16.

Tomodachi is a Japanese word meaning "friends." Help us celebrate the spirit of friendship through activities, art and treats that showcase Japan, its people and its rich history.

Activities include origami, kamishibai theater storytelling, music and dancing, chopsticks practice and kimono try-on.

The event runs from 2 to 4:30 pm in the Children's Library at the Oakland branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (map; enter the library and turn right), and is free and open to the public.

Chongqing Hot Pot (火锅英雄) in Pittsburgh, from April 8.

The 2016 Chinese movie Chongqing Hot Pot (火锅英雄) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from April 8. A March 31 Los Angeles Times review summarizes:

Chen Kun, Qin Hao and Yu Entai play lifelong chums whose friendship fractures due to an ill-advised investment in an underground eatery they call "Cave Hot Pot." An attempt to save the business via a DIY expansion has an unexpected result when the wall-busting leads the trio into an adjacent bank vault.

Bai Baihe plays an old acquaintance of the struggling restaurateurs, who's also a disgruntled employee of the bank they've breached. She comes up with a plan for them all to get rich, but before they can see it through to completion another band of thieves attempts a heist of their own

A Washington Post review calls it "Tarantino-esque" and warns of "bloody violence".

The movie opened in the US on April 1 and premiered at the Hong Kong Film Festival on March 21.

Tickets and showtimes are available at the AMC Loews Waterfront website. 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.

"aKDPhi Spicy Rice Cake Culture Event" at CMU, April 7.

Carnegie Mellon University's chapter of alpha Kappa Delta Phi, an "international Asian-interest sorority", will host a Spicy Rice Cake Culture Event on April 7. Referring to tteokbokki, the spicy Korean rice cake dish, the Facebook event says:

We will be selling cups of spicy rice cakes. In addition to selling irresistible rice cakes, we will be taking pictures and asking people to share why Asian American Awareness matters to them. Come out to support our organization and this important day of recognizing Asian Americans.

The event runs from 12 to 4 pm at University Center.

"The Visual Traditions of Japan" class at Carnegie Museum of Art, Wednesdays in April.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host "Art History Class: The Visual Traditions of Japan" on Wednesdays and Saturdays in April.

The history of Japanese art is marked by the constant interplay between indigenous and imported art forms. This engaging class examines these two sides of Japanese art from the prehistoric period to the 20th century. Our discussions examine how Japanese artists took foreign artistic elements, adapted them, and mixed them with indigenous elements to create uniquely Japanese visual traditions. After surveying the art and architecture of Japan up to the Edo period, we’ll focus on Edo-period and modern Japanese prints, of which CMOA has stellar collections.

The Wednesday class begins tomorrow, April 6, and runs through April 27. A Saturday class begin April 2. Each class runs from 10:15 am to 12:15 pm and costs $50 for students, $64 for museum members, and $80 for the general public.

"Hands-On Workshop Series—Calligraphy with Xiaoxu", May 3 in Oakland.

Advance notice for a free "Hands-On Workshop Series—Calligraphy with Xiaoxu" event at the Carnegie Library in Oakland on May 3.

Join us for HOW, a series of hands-on workshops for adults and teens. Learn from skilled craftspeople. Dig in and try things out in a creative, supportive environment. Join us for one or all of these free programs. Materials provided.

Chinese calligraphy is a traditional art form of writing characters using a brush and ink, which has developed over many centuries. You will learn step-by-step how to apply ink with the special brush, write Chinese characters, and take a piece of art home with you.

No registration is necessary for these sessions. Seating for all workshops is available to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. You'll want to come early to be sure you MAKE it on time!

The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. (map), accessible by over a dozen different buses that service Oakland.

2016 Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회), May 7 in Shadyside.

Look for the 2016 Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회) on May 7, from 10:30 to 4:00 pm. The annual Korean food festival is in its 21st year, and is held at 821 S. Aiken Ave. in Shadyside (map).

"Gwangju has more Korean food than Pittsburgh".

Street scene in Chungjangro (충장로), Gwangju's busiest commercial district.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a profile yesterday on infielder Jung-ho Kang (강정호) and his transition to life in Pittsburgh, ahead of his second season in the Major Leagues.

Japanese-English Reading Circle continues in Shadyside, April 2 and 16.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania's Japanese-English Reading Circle groups will continue in at Kenmawr Apartments in Shadyside on April 2 and 16.

Bruster's Ice Cream now open in Cheonan, South Korea.

From the 부르스터스코리아 Instagram page.

Almost two years after first reading about Bruster's plans for expansion into South Korea, Bruster's Ice Cream (부르스터스코리아) opened its first location in Cheonan, South Korea on March 31. Cheonan is a city of 623,557 located south of Seoul.

"Formation of a Layered Discourse: Cui Hu’s Mural Poem and its Resonance in the Story of 'Renmian taohua'" at Pitt, April 8.

The Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host East Asian Studies M.A. candidate Rongqian Ma and her colloquium "Formation of a Layered Discourse: Cui Hu’s Mural Poem and its Resonance in the Story of 'Renmian taohua'" on April 8.

"Gamelan Fusion: New and Traditional Music of West Java" concert at Pitt, April 9.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Music will host "Gamelan Fusion: New and Traditional Music of West Java" on Saturday, April 9.

Pitt’s University Gamelan will present “Gamelan Fusion: New and Traditional Music of West Java” on April 9th at Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. Gamelan comprises mainly percussion instruments including tuned gongs, metal-keyed instruments, and drums (as well as bamboo flute and voice). This instrumentation has a unique capacity to saturate the air with resonances that reach from rumbling lows to shimmering highs. The concert will feature student performers and two artists-in-residence: composer Ismet Ruchimat and vocalist Masyuning.

. . .

Each year the University Gamelan’s annual spring concert is the culmination of its Artist-in-Residence Program that offers Pitt students a rare opportunity to study music, dance, and theater with some of Indonesia’s finest artists.

The concert starts at 8:00 pm in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium (map). Tickets are currently available online and are free for Pitt students with a valid student ID card. Non-Pitt students and general admission are $5 and $8.50 in advance, respectively, or $8 and $12 at the door.

1966 yakuza film Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者) at Row House Cinema from April 29.

The Row House Cinema will show the 1966 yazkuza film Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者) from April 29 to May 5 as part of its Spirit of '66 series. A 2012 A.V. Club review offers a summary:

Blank-faced Tetsuya Watari stars as the titular wanderer, a gifted yakuza enforcer trying to stay true to his own idea of honor. The film traffics in a lot of familiar crime movie archetypes: the pretty girl kept on the sidelines; the father-son relationship between Watari and Ryuji Kita, his trying-to-go-straight boss; and all the complicated lines of loyalty and betrayal that come into play when a rival gang tries to muscle in on Kita’s turf. The story is engaging enough, and Watari makes for an appropriately implacable (but still soulful) lead, but what sets the film apart from countless others telling a similar tale are the lengths [director] Suzuki goes to in order to make each scene a feast for the eyes. Violent reds, purples, greens, and blues paint the screen, and the editing forgoes traditional cinematic logic in favor of impressionistic cuts and a jagged, jazzy rhythm. Through it all, Suzuki walks a knife-edge of ironic sincerity, poking at yakuza clichés in an attempt to reveal some larger, wordless truth.

Showtimes and tickets will be available online later. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street (map).

Pitt's Asian Studies Center introduces Tea Talks for students interested in Asia.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center announced today the start of a Tea Talks series for students interested in Asia, with the first meeting scheduled for Friday, April 1 (the poster advertises an old date).

Tea Talks at the Asian Studies Center are a chance to meet fellow students with an interest in Asia, learn about events and opportunities, and get involved with Asian Studies in a casual social setting.

The first meeting will focus on “MAKING SUMMER COUNT” – how to turn a lazy summer into time well spent. Whether it’s a job or internship, volunteering, or just personal skill-building, Asian Studies students will share their own stories and ideas on
how to use this time off to get ahead!

The get-together will be held in 4217 Posvar Hall (map) from 4:00 pm.

"Camera Fantasy: The Interwar Photomontages of Tokyo's Asahi Graph" at Pitt, March 29.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Paul Ricketts and his talk "Camera Fantasy: The Interwar Photomontages of Tokyo's Asahi Graph" on Tuesday, March 29. The talk starts at 12:00 pm in 4217 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Taiwanese movie Rebels of the Neon God (青少年哪吒) at Carnegie Library in Oakland, April 3.

The 1992 Taiwanese movie Rebels of the Neon God (青少年哪吒) will play at the Carnegie Library in Oakland on April 3, next month's installment of International Cinema Sunday.

Next Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Workshop at Pitt, April 1.

The University of Pittsburgh's School of Education will host another Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language [CFL] Workshop this semester on Friday, April 1. The workshop on Chinese Culture Teaching by Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures instructor Qiong Wu will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in 5401 Posvar Hall (map). The presentations are primarily or entirely in Chinese.