2017 documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda at Southside Works, July 31.

The 2017 documentary on composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, will play in Pittsburgh on July 31 at the Southside Works Cinema. A July 6 Variety review provides a summary:

Admirers of the highly respected Japanese musician (and occasional actor) will enjoy “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” a leisurely look at a multi-talent best known in the west for composing memorable original scores for directors from Bertolucci and Oshima to Inarritu and Miike. Stephen Nomura Schible shot this documentary over a five-year span, during which Sakamoto survived a serious cancer scare. That lends some drama to a tastefully elegiac portrait that otherwise demurs from any discussion of its protagonist’s personal life or background.

Tickets for the 7:30 pm show are available online. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

Sailor Moon R and Sailor Moon S movies in Pittsburgh, from July 28.

Two 1990s Sailor Moon movies will play in the Pittsburgh area, Sailor Moon R (劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンＲ) and Sailor Moon S (劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンＳ), from July 28. A note from the distributor:

Sailor Moon, the beloved Guardian of Love and Justice, returns to the big screen for a special theatrical event! Following an encore presentation of the first movie (SAILOR MOON R- THE MOVIE), the Sailor Guardians unite once more to battle their chilliest adversary yet (SAILOR MOON S- THE MOVIE). The second week of showings will feature the classic anime's third movie (SAILOR MOON SUPERS- THE MOVIE) along with never-before seen in theaters short, "Ami's First Love." All features are presented uncut and true to the original Japanese version, with English dubbed and subtitled showings available.

Sailor Moon R will be screened in Japanese on July 28 and dubbed in English on July 30. Sailor Moon Super S will be screened in Japanese on August 4 and dubbed in English on August 6. The movies will play at the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson. Tickets are currently available online.

Akira, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Perfect Blue part of Anime Series at Row House Cinema in September.

The Row House Cinema will show Akira (アキラ), Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉), Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー), and one more to-be-announced film as part of its annual Anime series from September 21 through 27. Tickets and showtime information will be available later. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Phipps hiring Display Horticulturist, Bonsai and Japanese Courtyard Garden.

Via Phipps Conservatory.

Last month Doug Oster wrote about the efforts to refurbish the Japanese courtyard garden at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden:

Designed in 1991 by famed Japanese landscape designer Hoichi Kurisu, the outdoor garden is a hidden gem, as not every visitor discovers the space. Those who do are rewarded with a secluded space where koi rise to the surface of a pond under branches and deep red leaves of Japanese maples. Kuriso returned to the garden for the first time last December to meet with the horticulture team at the conservatory in an effort to refresh the space as part of the year-long 125th anniversary celebration of Phipps.

Today Phipps is hiring a display horticulturalist to work with that space.

Phipps is seeking a full-time Display Horticulturist to be responsible for the day-to-day care of the Bonsai and Japanese Courtyard Garden, assuring exceptional horticulture and immaculate maintenance at all times. The Display Horticulturist will take a lead role in designing the annual tropical bonsai exhibit and other displays involving the bonsai collection. In addition to horticultural responsibilities, this position will develop and present bonsai classes and related educational programs, as well as write articles and represent Phipps in relation to bonsai. The Display Horticulturist will also assist with installation, maintenance and teardown of flower shows, special exhibits, display rooms, and other areas of the Conservatory as needed.

Everyday Noodles, Northeastern Kitchen, Nak Won Garden make list of Seven Favorite Dumplings in Pittsburgh.

At Northeastern Kitchen; photo by Laura Petrilla.

Pittsburgh Magazine's Hal B. Klein profiles seven places in Pittsburgh with delicious variations on the dumpling, including Everyday Noodles, Northeastern Kitchen, and Nak Won Garden.

Bilingual Customer Service Representative (Mandarin+English) for hire in Manchester area.

Sterling Office Professionals, a staffing agency, has placed an ad for a Bilingual Mandarin and English Customer Service Representative for a company in the Manchester area.

Shonen Knife tickets to go on sale Friday, July 20.

Tickets for the September 4 Shonen Knife show in Pittsburgh will go on sale Friday, July 20. Shonen Knife, a seminal Japanese pop punk band formed in 1981, will play Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville as part of its 2018 US tour.

Boasting a nearly 40 year career, these three luminaries of rock & roll have wielded fun and food-centered bops that earned them the love and respect of music goliaths like Nirvana andSonic Youth. They’ve made their way from their home of Osaka, Japan to the United States many times, but this year they’re putting their personal affection for each and every city on display. Following the release of their tenacious live DVD/CD ALIVE! In Osaka (Released onRobby Takac of THE GOO GOO DOLLS’ Good Charamel Records), Shonen Knife have prepared to deliver that same hometown energy from Buffalo on August 28th to Brooklyn on August 31st, Chicago on September 9th, Los Angeles on October 5th, and so much more. Each city will have its own personalized and limited edition artwork available at the show, because for Shonen Knife, home is where the fans are.

Shonen Knife frontwoman Naoko comments, “Our first live album Live in Osaka was released in 2006, and was recorded at the same venue as this new one. After the first live album, we toured, released music constantly, grew as a band and improved. This year we would like to bring the fever from ALIVE! in Osaka on our US tour. Not only will we play songs from the record, but we are also preparing special rarely played songs from earlier albums to the present. Let’s have a fun time together!”

Tickets for the 21-and-over show will be available online from 12:00 am on the 20th, and in person at Juke Records in Bloomfield, Jerry's Recoords in Squirrel Hill, Dave's Music Mine in the south Side, and Caliban Books in Oakland. They're $16 in advance and $20 at the door. Spirit is located at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville (map).

2018 animated film Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう) in Pittsburgh, July 18, 21, and 22.

The 2018 Japanese film Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう), originally scheduled to play in Pittsburgh on July 22 only, will now play today, the 21st, and 22nd. The Anime News Network provides a summary:

Maquia is from a clan where all the members stop aging in their mid teens. She has no parents and, although her days are peaceful, she feels lonely. Their peace is shattered when an army invades, seeking the secret to her people's immortality. Leilia, the most beautiful girl in her clan, is taken away, and the boy Maquia has secret feelings for disappears. Maquia is able to escape, but she loses her friends and her home. Wandering alone in the forest, she finds Erial, a baby boy who has lost his parents. The story follows the changing relationship between the two as Erial grows up and Maquia does not.

The movie premiered in Japan on February 24 and was the fifth-highest-grossing movie in the country its opening weekend. Tickets for the three days' shows, in Japanese with English subtitles, are available online. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

Picnic with visiting Saitama delegation, July 25.

"15 yr Sister City dedication w/ Saitama Mayor Shizmu & Chairman Hagiwara in Pittsburgh Council Chambers" - @billpeduto in 2013.

The Pittsburgh Saitama Sister City Committee is holding a picnic for a visiting delegation from Saitama on July 25 at North Park.

Saitama City, Pittsburgh's sister city in Japan, will be sending a delegation including the Mayor, his staff, and city council members to renew their friendship with us this month!
今月の２３日から２７日までピッツバーグの姉妹都市である埼玉市から、市長、市議会議員を含めた代表団が姉妹都市の友好関係を深めるために訪問する予定です。

Since sister cities are about people-to-people ties, please join us for an informal picnic at the Point Shelter in North Park, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, July 25th to welcome them.
姉妹都市は人と人のつながりが大切ですので、7月25日水曜日の午後5時30分から午後8時までノースパークのPoint Shelterでピクニックを行います。是非ご参加ください！

The Pittsburgh Saitama Sister City Committee will provide hamburgers, chicken, cutlery, and soft drinks. Please bring a dish (approximately 20 servings) to share!
ピッツバーグ埼玉姉妹都市委員会は、ハンバーガー、チキン、ソフトドリンク等を提供致します。 他のシェアーできるおかず類（約20人分）などを持って来てください！

Registration is required and can be completed online.

Tomoko Omura’s Post Bop Gypsies, August 14 at City of Asylum.

via @tomokoomura

The City of Asylum will host Tomoko Omura’s Post Bop Gypsies, a jazz trio out of New York City fronted by violinist Tomoko Omura, on August 14.

Tomoko Omura’s Post Bop Gypsies are a modern take on the classic, violin, guitar and bass instrumentation.

The New York City based trio also features Alex Goodman on guitar and George DeLancey on bass. The band is on the road celebrating their self titled 2017 debut release (Inner Circle Music 2017).

The show runs from 8:00 to 10:00 pm; it's free, but online RSVP is required. The City of Asylum's Alphabet City is located at 40 N. West Ave. on the North Side (map).