Monday, February 5, 2018

Hiroshige’s Tokaido Road at Carnegie Museum of Art, March 31 through July 8.


3rd station : Kanagawa

The Carnegie Museum of Art will exhibit its collection of Utagawa Hiroshige's The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (東海道五十三次) prints from March 31.

Lunar New Year: Year of the Dog at Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, February 10.



The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh will hold "Chinese New Year Celebration: Year of the Dog" on Saturday, February 10.
In ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on the Lunar New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. Come kick off the Lunar year 4716, the year of the Dog, with Silk Screen Asian Arts and Culture Organization at the Children's Museum. Try Chinese calligraphy with Ming Rui, and enjoy live performances by Yan Lai Dance Academy, Purple Bamboo Chinese Ensemble, and Steel Dragon Lion Dance Team. Stop by MAKESHOP to explore Kumihimo, a Japanese form of braid-making. Kumi himo is Japanese for "gathered threads". The technique involves using different types of looms to create countless kinds of braids! You can even taste some of our favorite fruits and learn about the Vietnamese Five Fruit Tray tradition at our Fresh Picks.
A complete schedule of events is available on the museum's website. The celebration runs from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm and is free with museum admission ($16 for adults, $14 for kids aged 2 through 18, and free for infants under 2). The museum is located at 10 Children's Way on the Northside (map).

AEON (株式会社イーオン) in-person interviews in Pittsburgh for teaching positions in Japan, March 24.



AEON (株式会社イーオン), a large chain of English schools in Japan, is holding in-person interviews for prospective teachers throughout the United States this spring, and will be interviewing in Pittsburgh on March 24. Those interested should submit applications online by early March.

Movie & Mumble with 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance (Shall we ダンス?), February 10 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 movie was originally scheduled for January 13, but inclement weather caused its cancellation. The event runs from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Cranberry Public Library (map), and is free and open to the public.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

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.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Khruangbin plays Pittsburgh, April 6.


Via @khruangbin.

Texas trio Khruangbin, with a sound routinely described as "Thai funk," will play in Pittsburgh on April 6. In a January Vulture profile, the band speaks to that label:
After Mark Speer, Laura Lee, and Donald Johnson put out their first album, The Universe Smiles Upon You, critics and khru-members alike slotted them under the genre of Thai funk. “We can’t claim that,” says Speer, who plays the guitar. “That’s doing great disservice to the folks who actually make what we in the West call Thai funk. Khun Narin, or Paradise Bangkok, check them out, those are actual Thai bands playing Thai funk.” It’s been an honest mistake: Ahead of recording Universe, Speer built a playlist of tracks by Khun Narin, Paradise Bangkok, and their contemporaries, sourced from all over but mostly from a blog called Monrakplengthai. They played it constantly. “If you put something in your head, and you’re listening to it all the time, it will come out when you’re playing,” Lee, the bassist, says.
Tickets for the 21-and-over show at Rex Theater on the Southside (map) are now available online.

Friday, February 2, 2018

2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) returns to Pittsburgh, February 24 and 26.



The 2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花), which played throughout the Pittsburgh area in January, will return to local Cinemark theaters on February 24 and 26.

Chenrezig Sand Mandala design and construction at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, February 4 through 9.



The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts will host two Tibetan Lama from the Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center from February 4 through February 9 as they design and construct a Chenrezig Sand Mandala.
Tibetan Sand Mandala is a 2-D representation of a 3-D sacred space. Chenrezig is the Buddha of Compassion. On Friday the mandala is dissolved to allow the compassionate energy to be shared bringing the blessing of healing and peace to the world.

The construction of the sand mandala by venerable Lama Sonam and venerable Lama Kalsang is from 10am - 3:30pm everyday.
The opening ceremony is Monday, February 4, at 10:00 am, and the dissolving ceremony is February 9 at 12:00 noon. The Pittsburgh Center for the Ats is located at 6300 Fifth Ave in Shadyside (map). Admission is free but donations are welcomed.

Michael Sakamoto: Soil at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, March 9 and 10.



The Kelly Strayhorn Theater will present the "intercultural dance-theater work" Soil on March 9 and 10.
Soil is an intercultural dance-theater work conceived and directed by Michael Sakamoto and co-created with three performers who embody distinct traditions: Cambodian classical and contemporary dancer Chey Chankethya, Thai traditional and contemporary dancer Waewdao Sirisook, and Vietnamese-American contemporary dancer Nguyen Nguyen. Each of these performers’ personal histories chart humanitarian, social, and economic crises that have stemmed from colonialism, war, genocide, political turmoil and natural disaster in Southeast Asia.

Soil poses the question “Who am I?” in the context of a chaotic and globalizing transnational citizenry. Various dance forms and styles—including Western contemporary, Cambodian classical, Northern Thai traditional and folk, and butoh—are juxtaposed, remixed and revealed as rooted in the experience of everyday life as global citizens. Featuring original music by Reiko Imanishi and Shinichi Isohata.
Tickets for the 8:00 pm shows are pay-what-you-can. The Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located at 5941 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map).

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Traveling to Japan, March 1 at Northland Public Library.


"Osaka, Japan" by Pedro Szekely (Creative Commons).

Kana Komaki, who is hosting "Journey to Japan" on February 18 in Oakland, will present "Traveling to Japan" at Northland Public Library on March 1.

The Revolution will not be Televised: Protest Music After Fukushima, February 9 at Pitt.



On February 9 the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Noriko Manabe of Temple University and a lecture based on her 2015 book The Revolution will not be Televised: Protest Music After Fukushima.

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.