Pittsburgh Taiko four-week beginner workshop, Saturdays starting July 1.

via Pittsburgh Taiko Facebook page.

Pittsburgh Taiko, a local Japanese drumming group, will host a four-week beginner workshop starting July 1.

Over the course of the workshop, you will learn basic movements and techniques used to play taiko.

Drumsticks will be provided, as will earplugs (although you’re welcome to bring your own if you have some).

The workshop meets the first four Saturdays of the month---July 1, 8, 15, 22---at Winchester Thurston School's Upper School building in Shadyside (map). The cost of the workshop is $20 for Japan-America Society of Pittsburgh members, $25 for students 9th grade and above, and $40 for others. More information is available on the Pittsburgh Taiko website.

Hayao Miyazaki film My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) at Cinemark theaters around Pittsburgh, June 25 and 26.

The Hayao Miyazaki film My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) and Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) will play at Cinemark theaters in western Pennsylvania next week, the first installment of this year's GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest 2017. From a 2001 Roger Ebert review:

Miyazaki's films are above all visually enchanting, using a watercolor look for the backgrounds and working within the distinctive Japanese anime tradition of characters with big round eyes and mouths that can be as small as a dot or as big as a cavern. They also have an unforced realism in the way they notice details; early in ''Totoro,'' for example, the children look at a little waterfall near their home, and there on the bottom, unremarked, is a bottle someone threw into the stream.

The movie tells the story of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe. As the story opens, their father is driving them to their new house, near a vast forest. Their mother, who is sick, has been moved to a hospital in this district. Now think about that. The film is about two girls, not two boys or a boy and a girl, as all American animated films would be. It has a strong and loving father, in contrast to the recent Hollywood fondness for bad or absent fathers. Their mother is ill; does illness exist in American animation?

An English-dubbed version will play at 12:55 pm on June 25 at Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills, while the English-subtitled version will play at those theaters at 7:00 pm on June 26. Tickets are currently available online.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, June 20.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on June 20 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese for children and their parents or caregivers. For children age birth-5 and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

The Irregular at Magic High School The Movie: The Girl Who Calls the Stars (劇場版 魔法科高校の劣等生 星を呼ぶ少女) at Hollywood Theater, July 29.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show the Japanese animated movie The Irregular at Magic High School The Movie: The Girl Who Calls the Stars (劇場版 魔法科高校の劣等生 星を呼ぶ少女) on July 29.

Post-Gazette profiles Robert Morris women's basketball recruit Honoka Ikematsu, first Japanese player in program history.

via @rmuwbasketball.

Today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette features a profile of Honoka Ikematsu, an 18-year-old Japanese woman who is among the latest recruits to the Robert Morris University women's basketball team.

In Honoka Ikematsu, a native of Kumamoto, Japan, [assistant coach Asami] Morita found a player who wanted to compete at a college program in the United States. She also found a player whose skills could transfer across the Pacific Ocean.

Of the numerous differences between Japanese and American women’s basketball, the most significant are the shooting styles. Japanese women’s basketball guards shoot with two hands, similar to a set shot, with a slow release. It’s often accurate, Buscaglia said, but would be easily defended in an American basketball game.

“A lot of players that you would bring over here, you would have to re-teach them how to shoot or you would have to live with the way they shoot the ball,” Buscaglia said.

Concerns of Ikematsu’s ability to learn the American shooting style — using one hand as a guide, and a second hand to push the ball — were eased when they saw film of her scrimmaging with Seattle-based AAU program Emerald City Basketball Academy. Ikematsu already had the American shooting form mastered.

Ikematsu, who signed with Robert Morris on May 18, is the first Japanese player in that program's history.

Fairy Tale: Dragon Cry (劇場版 フェアリーテイル -DRAGON CRY) in Pittsburgh in August.

The 2017 animated film Fairy Tale: Dragon Cry (劇場版 フェアリーテイル -DRAGON CRY) will play at the Southside Works Cinema on August 14 and 16. The distributor summarizes:

Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry movie brings back your favorite gang—Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and the Exceed sidekicks—for a new tale filled with action, adventure, and hilarious hijinks. When the “Dragon Cry,” a staff with the power to destroy the world, is stolen, there’s only one team of wizards up for the job. Dark secrets, new enemies, and fiery fights await!

The movie was released in Japan on May 6. It will play with English subtitles both nights at 7:30, though tickets are not yet available. Southside Works Cinema is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

Chang Chun Chemical Corporation seeking bilingual English-Mandarin Sales Assistant in Pittsburgh.

Taiwan's Chang Chun Chemical Corporation is seeking a bilingual English-Mandarin Sales Assistant for its office in Wexford, PA.

Chang Chun Group is one of the largest chemical producer in Taiwan. Chang Chun Chemical Corporation (CCCC) is the US branch office 100% owned by Chang Chun Group which is responsible for sales and distribution in North America market. CCCC would like to seek suitably qualified candidates for the following position to join our pioneer team.

Sales Assistant Responsibilities:

Communicating with Taipei Headquarter for order processing and shipment arrangement
To support sales function such as issuing purchase order, invoice or sales related documents
To maintain filling, updating and keeping of records
Managing stock inventory and sales operation as instructed by the Sales Manager
Handling customers’ enquiries and maintain tip top service to customers.
Requirements:

Knowledge and understanding of all shipping terms and associated with shipping knowledge will be an advantage
Experience in SAP or ERP system is a plus
Basic computer operating and Microsoft Office Skills are required
Able to communicate in English and Mandarin is required

Nakama again voted best Japanese/sushi restaurant in Pittsburgh by people who don't know Japanese/sushi restaurants in Pittsburgh.

Nakama Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar was again voted the best Japanese/sushi restaurant by readers of Pittsburgh Magazine, according to poll results released today. Nakama has been voted #1 each year by readers since 2009, and is also perennial winner of the Pittsburgh City-Paper readers' poll.

Also of relevance to this site: Sesame Inn was voted Best Chinese, Nicky's Thai Kitchen was voted Best Thai, and Pusadee's Garden was voted best Al Fresco (open air). Those poll results are identical to last year's.

1969's Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列) at Row House Cinema, June 23 - 29.

The Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville will show the 1969 Japanese movie 1969's Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列), "Japan's Queer Underground Cinema Classic," from June 23 to 29 as part of its Row House's Drag Race series. A June 8 New York Times review provides a summay:

A hodgepodge of themes and techniques, it transposes the Oedipus story to the intersection of Tokyo’s hippie and “gay boy” subcultures, opening with a Baudelaire quotation and incorporating street rituals by the Zero Jigen performance group. The title, taken from one performance, is a pun: Bara, Japanese for “rose,” is a slang term akin to the English “pansy.”

The protagonist, Eddie (played by the androgynous entertainer Peter, later featured in Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 “Ran”), is a sweet hustler with a dark past. As polished a looker as the Warhol Factory’s reigning drag queens Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, Eddie parlays an affair with a local drug dealer into becoming the madam of the Club Genet, an actual gay bar in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo.

Tickets and showtimes are available online at the theater's website. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

POSCO CEO Kwon, Sinochem Group Chair Ning among those named to Pitt's Global Advisory Council.

Via POSCO; via The Paper.

The University of Pittsburgh's Chancellor Patrick Gallagher has named 19 people to his Global Advisory Council to "advise the chancellor and academic and administrative leaders on research, education and outreach activities." The group includes POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon and Sinochem Group Chair Gaoning "Frank" Ning, both of whom earned advanced degrees at Pitt in 1985 (PhD and MBA, respectively).

IUP still hiring Japanese teacher (preferably someone who can also teach Korean).

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is still hiring a teacher for elementary- and intermediate-level Japanese, with a preference for someone who can also teach Korean (as in the case of there current faculty there, Dr. Yongtaek Kim). An excerpt from the job posting:

Duties
Teach elementary and intermediate Japanese. Preference given to candidates either possessing a literature or cultures specialty or having the ability to also teach Korean language.

Position Qualifications
Fluency in Japanese and a master's degree in Foreign Languages, Education, or a related field are required. Ph.D. is preferred. Ongoing research and publications appropriate to one's area of specialty are expected, and teaching or field experience is preferred.

The department seeks candidates whose teaching, research, or services has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion in higher education.

Candidates must communicate effectively and perform well during the interview(s).

IUP is located roughly 60 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

Host families needed in Pittsburgh for visiting Yasuda Women's University students from August to January.

Via Yasuda Women's University.

The University of Pittsburgh's English Language Institute will once again welcome a cohort of students from Hiroshima's Yasuda Women's University (安田女子大学), and GlobalPittsburgh is recruiting host families ahead of their stay.

- The students are all females of 19-20 years old; most of them have "fair" level of English. They will be learning English at the English Language Institute at the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland.
- There will be monthly compensation for hosting.
- The approximate dates of the program are between August 29, 2017 and January 21, 2018.
- The student will need a separate furnished bedroom with a bed, dresser or closet, desk (optional), adequate lighting to study, and heat/air.
- The students cannot be placed in the same home with other Japanese students, Japanese natives or male students.
- Host families are requested to include the student in their family meals with an option for the student to pack their lunch.
- The host should be located conveniently on a direct bus line to Oakland and/or with a max of 40 minute commute.
- The students will be attending the University on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and have a decent amount of homework daily. They will be engaged in many activities provided by University and GlobalPittsburgh.

If your family is willing and able to host, please contact Nadya Kessler at nkessler at globalpittsburgh.org.

2016 Japanese film After the Storm (海よりもまだ深く) at Hollywood Theater, June 16 - 22.

The 2016 Japanese film After the Storm (海よりもまだ深く) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont from June 16 through June 22. A summary from a March San Francisco Chronicle review:

Ryoto (Hiroshi Abe) has lost his mojo. Fifteen years earlier, his novel won a prestigious award, but he has yet to follow up on that success. He is divorced from Kyoko (Yoko Maki) and is behind on his child support — he is limited by the divorce settlement to visiting his son Shingo (Taiyo Yoshizawa) once a month.

He is also broke — probably because of the cost of the divorce and his gambling habit. With no follow-up novel in the works, he has taken a job with a private detective agency. As he gets the goods on his clients’ cheating significant others, he also examines his only life, which he is gradually realizing is a failure.

“I’m the ‘great talents bloom late’ kind,” Ryoto tells his mother, Yashiko (Kirin Kiki, who is excellent).

Not buying it for a second, Mom responds, “You’re taking too long to bloom.”

Unable to move on, Ryoto uses his private eye skills to spy on his ex-wife and her new boyfriend, who seems to be everything he is not — and a nice guy to boot. What could be a creepy sort of plot twist is, in Kore-eda’s hands, more of a sad desperation.

As with many of Kore-eda’s best films — “Maborosi” and “Still Walking,” among others — “After the Storm” has what the Japanese call mono no aware, which translates as “the pathos of things.” It is a film that is aware of the transient, impermanent nature of life.

Tickets and showtime information is now 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.

Snacks and sweets at Asian Food Market Bobae in Monroeville.

Happened across a large selection of Korean and Japanese snacks and sweets---including mochi, Japanese Kit-Kat flavors (like matcha and sake), and Ramune drinks---at Asian Food Market Bobae the other day. The Korean-owned store (bobae / 보배 is treasure in Korean) is located in a small strip mall at 4027 William Penn Highway in Monroeville, across from the Miracle Mile Shopping Center (map).

Korean movie The Way Home (집으로) in Oakland, July 2.

The 2002 Korean film The Way Home (집으로) will play at the Carnegie Library's Main Branch in Oakland on July 2 as that month's installment of the International Cinema Sunday series. A 2002 San Francisco Chronicle review provides a summary:

Dumped by his mother at the rural home of his ancient grandmother, a 7-year- old boy turns surly and depressed. His Game Boy batteries die, Grandma's food tastes strange, and the countryside lacks the vivid distractions of urban life.

Gradually, the spoiled brat (Seung-Ho Yoo) and the deaf, exquisitely patient grandmother (Eul-Boon Kim) grow to love and understand each other. By the time his mother returns to claim him, the boy has learned more from the old woman's gestures of kindness than his mother ever taught him

The movie runs from 2:00 to 5:00 pm 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, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

Dr. Angela Stanzel and "German-Chinese Economic Relations" talk, June 12 downtown.

Dr. Angela Stanzel of the European Council on Foreign Relations will speak on June 12 on "German-Chinese Economic Relations". From the Pittsburgh Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany:

While German-Chinese trade and investment relations are still expanding, 2016 was also a year of strong reappraisal by Germany. Germany’s economic circles have become wary as enthusiasm in China for economic reform is tapering off; opportunities for foreign firms have been removed one by one. The lack of reciprocity and the risk of seeing Germany’s technology siphoned off by China have already had an impact on the thinking in government and large companies in Germany. This has triggered a change in Berlin’s tone and dealings with China. The quality of this change is remarkable because for many years German-Chinese economic relations were thought to have no way to go but further upward. Today, this relationship has seemed to enter a period of unknown stormy waters precisely when the Trump factor adds volatility to China’s relationship with the United States, its most important political and economic partner.

Registration is requested by June 9. The event runs from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown (map) and is $5 for those not members of the American Council on Germany or the German American Chamber of Commerce.

Pitt hiring for temp bilingual Chinese-English Social Media Education Coordinator position.

The University of Pittsburgh has an opening for a bilingual Mandarin-English Social Media Education Coordinator temp position. From the Pittsource posting:

The Social Media Education Coordinator will play a key roll in developing on-line educational content for the University’s international alumni. They will be responsible for working with the Asian Studies Center and the UCIS Director of Constituent Relations to develop a new on-line educational and outreach materials platform for alumni in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Content will be bilingual (Mandarin and English). SMEC will need to develop a social media strategy to push content.

Job Requirements
Understanding of on-line education;
background in education;
fluency in Chinese and English;
Excellent communication skills;
Attention to detail;
Basic understanding of Web design;
Microsoft Office in English and Mandarin;
Background in Chinese social media

K-pop Dance Class at Yanlai Dance Academy in July and August.

The Yanlai Dance Academy in the North Hills will host a K-pop Dance Class on weekends from July 22 through August 19. Classes run from 2:00 to 3:00 pm and are $13 for drop-ins or $10 per session for the whole term. The school is located at 2260 Babcock Blvd (map).

"HOW: Hands-On Workshop Series — Obon Lanterns with Shannon", August 1 in Oakland.

Via Toronogashi.

Advance notice for an Obon Lantern workshop at the Carnegie Library in Oakland on August 1.

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.

Make floating paper lanterns traditionally used during Obon in Japan. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist custom honoring the spirits of one’s ancestors.

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. in Oakland (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest 2017 brings six films to Cinemark theaters this summer and fall.

Six Studio Ghibli films will play at Cinemark theaters this summer and fall as part of GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest 2017: My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) in June, Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) in July, Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) in August, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) in September, Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) in October, and Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) in November. Each will have screenings in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English and will play in the Pittsburgh area in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills. Showtimes and tickets are available online:

My Neighbor Totoro
English dubbed: June 25 at 12:55 pm
Japanese: June 26 at 7:00 pm

Kiki's Delivery Service
English dubbed: July 23 at 12:55 pm
Japanese: July 24 at 7:00 pm

Castle in the Sky
English dubbed: August 27 at 12:55 pm
Japanese: August 28 at 7:00 pm

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
English dubbed: September 24 at 12:55 pm
Japanese: September 25 at 7:00 pm

Spirited Away
English dubbed: October 29 at 12:55 pm
Japanese: October 30 at 7:00 pm

Howl's Moving Castle
English dubbed: November 26 at 12:55 pm
Japanese: November 27 at 7:00 pm

2017 Japanese animated film Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (劇場版「黒執事 Book of the Atlantic」) in Pittsburgh, June 12 and 14.

The 2017 Japanese animated movie Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic (劇場版「黒執事 Book of the Atlantic」) will play at the Southside Works Cinema on June 12 and 14. The distributor provides a summary for the film, which opened in Japan in January and is making its debut throughout the US in June:

All aboard to the next great adventure for Ciel and his demonic butler, Sebastian! After hearing rumors of a peculiar society bringing people back from the dead, the two board the luxury liner Campania on her maiden voyage to investigate. Incognito amongst the mysterious Aurora Society, they find familiar faces and a sight they can’t believe—a woman raised from the dead! But surprise quickly turns to dread when the shambling corpse attacks.

With more questions than answers, Ciel and Sebastian are up against not just one flesh-hungry corpse, but hundreds. Worse yet, the flamboyant reaper Grell and his new partner, Ronald Knox, stand in their way. Time is running out to solve this mystery, and if the demonic duo doesn’t act fast, they’ll be treading some seriously rough waters. Who could be behind this daring necromancy—and are they ready to find out?

Tickets and showtime information is available from the Southside Works Cinema website. The June 12 show is in Japanese with English subtitles, while the June 14 show is dubbed in English. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the SouthSide Works shopping center (map).