New Chinese film The Liquidator (心理罪：城市之光) in Pittsburgh from December 29.

The new movie The Liquidator (心理罪：城市之光), released in China on December 22, will play in Pittsburgh from December 29. A ScreenDaily review writes of the film starring Deng Chao, Ethan Juan, and Cecilia Liu:

Based on a novel in Lei Mi’s ‘Profiler’ series, The Liquidator pits a brilliant criminal psychologist against a calculating murderer whose modus operandi is to target those acquitted in widely publicised trials. Capably anchored by reliable local box office draw Deng Chao, this slick procedural should prove to be a solid hit domestically

Tickets and showtime information is available 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

2017 Chinese movie Youth (芳华) at Regent Square Theater, from December 29.

The 2017 Chinese coming-of-age drama Youth (芳华), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 15, will play at the Regent Square Theater from December 29 through January 4. A September 9 Variety review introduces the film:

The narrator Suizi (Zhong Chuxi), a stand-in for screenwriter Yan Geling (“The Flowers of War” and “Coming Home”), whose semi-biographical novel was the film’s literary source, belongs to a military dance troupe stationed in the Great Southwest. However, the central figure is actually Xiaoping (Miao Miao), whose father has been branded a Rightist and thrown in a re-education camp. She is recruited from Beijing by the good-looking and kind-hearted lead dancer Liu Feng (Huang Xuan).

The pristine surroundings of their training center and dreamy soft focus that accompanies the young dancers whenever they rehearse revolutionary ballets exude a rarefied atmosphere that reinforces how privileged the troupe is, shielded from hunger, violence and back-breaking labor at the height of the Cultural Revolution. And yet, a hierarchy based on political pedigree is firmly in place in the so-called classless society. Shuwen (Li Xiaofeng) the daughter of a general and hospital supervisor, is the queen bee. Dingding (Yang Caiyu) scores with her looks, while Mongolian Drolma (Sui Yuan) plays her ethnic minority card.

The film will play each day at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm; tickets are only available for purchase in person at the theater. It is located at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) in the Regent Square neighborhood, east of Squirrel Hill and Oakland.

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.

Make art, enjoy live performances by Yan Lai Dance Academy, Purple Bamboo Chinese Ensemble, and join the Steel Dragon Lion Dance Team for a parade through the Museum!

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).

WholeRen's American Homestay Services (美国寄宿家庭服务中心) hiring Mandarin-speaking Marketing Specialist.

American Homestay Services (美国寄宿家庭服务中心), a branch of the Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consultancy company WholeRen Education, is hiring a Mandarin-speaking Marketing Specialist.

Japan-inspired crepe chain T-Swirl Crêpe now open in Pittsburgh.

After more than a year-and-a-half of construction, Japan-inspired Japan-inspired crepe chain T-Swirl Crêpe is now open in Squirrel Hill. The official site summarizes the concept behind T-Swirl Crepe:

The story of T-swirl Crepe starts thousands of miles away on the shores of Japan. The Japanese Crepe borrows from a western concept and modernized it into new level of versatility that you can gobble on the go. Building on this new concept, T-swirl started to research and have perfected the 100% gluten free rice flour batter, to craft a crispy thin chewy layer that embraces all the decadent condiments. T-swirl is synonymous with using the finest ingredients to construct a trendy/artistic crepe that arrives to your hand with incredible speed. We have standardized the process to give you a consistently clean and delicious crepe.

And though the chain originates in New York City, it has a Pittsburgh connection, according to a 2016 NBC News profile on "undocumented entrepreneurs":

In 2007, Andy Lin moved out of New York, travelling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to begin work at a hibachi restaurant where Jerry Lin was already employed, he said. Andy Lin proved a quick study, Jerry Lin recalled, earning the plaudits of the owner who asked him to partner to open another store two years later.

But despite earning more than $10,000 a month, Andy Lin said he began to feel his career plateauing after years of doing the same thing day in, day out.

That's when he noticed the frozen yogurt shop across from his restaurant in Pittsburgh and decided to take a chance, he said.

Hoping to ride the frozen-yogurt wave washing up in cities across the country, Andy Lin returned his share of the restaurant and left at the end of 2010, he said.

T-Swirl Crêpe is located at 1714 Murray Ave (map) in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人), King Hu's Legend of the Mountain (山中传奇) at Regent Square Theater, part of Silk Screen + Pittsburgh Filmmakers collaboration in 2018.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Silk Screen Asian Arts & Cultural Organization will show a different classic Asian film each month, with Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) and King Hu's Legend of the Mountain (山中传奇) featured in January and March, respectively. Kurosawa's 1958 film will play each Sunday in January and Hu's 1979 film each Sunday in March; all shows start at 6:00 pm at the Regent Square Theater (map), and tickets are only available for purchase at the door.

Reading with Korean-American author Min Jin Lee, February 20 at City of Asylum.

via minjinlee.com

City of Asylum @ Alphabet City will host bestselling author Min Jin Lee on February 20 for a reading of her 2017 book Pachinko. Her website provides a summary of the book:

PACHINKO follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan.

So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.

The reading runs from 8:00 to 9:30 pm at Alphabet City on the North Side, and is free and open to the public, though RSVP is required.

Magical Girl Lyrical NANOHA Reflection (魔法少女リリカルなのは Reflection) at Hollywood Theater in February.

The distributor recently announced the 2017 Japanese animated movie 魔法少女リリカルなのは Reflection will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont in February.

2017 Chinese movie Youth (芳华) to continue at Waterfront through December 27.

The 2017 Chinese coming-of-age drama Youth (芳华), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 15, will continue at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater through December 27. (It will also run at the Regent Square Theater from December 29 through January 4.) A September 9 Variety review introduces the film:

The narrator Suizi (Zhong Chuxi), a stand-in for screenwriter Yan Geling (“The Flowers of War” and “Coming Home”), whose semi-biographical novel was the film’s literary source, belongs to a military dance troupe stationed in the Great Southwest. However, the central figure is actually Xiaoping (Miao Miao), whose father has been branded a Rightist and thrown in a re-education camp. She is recruited from Beijing by the good-looking and kind-hearted lead dancer Liu Feng (Huang Xuan).

The pristine surroundings of their training center and dreamy soft focus that accompanies the young dancers whenever they rehearse revolutionary ballets exude a rarefied atmosphere that reinforces how privileged the troupe is, shielded from hunger, violence and back-breaking labor at the height of the Cultural Revolution. And yet, a hierarchy based on political pedigree is firmly in place in the so-called classless society. Shuwen (Li Xiaofeng) the daughter of a general and hospital supervisor, is the queen bee. Dingding (Yang Caiyu) scores with her looks, while Mongolian Drolma (Sui Yuan) plays her ethnic minority card.

Tickets and showtime information is available 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.

2017 Chinese movie Youth (芳华) at Regent Square Theater, from December 29.

The 2017 Chinese coming-of-age drama Youth (芳华), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 15 (and is still playing at the AMC Loews Waterfront), will play at the Regent Square Theater from December 29 through January 4.

Squirrel Hill's Bubble Pi closes again.

Bubble Pi Baking Arts, the first Asian bakery in Squirrel Hill, has closed again. The Taiwanese bakery opened in 2007 at 2218 Murray Ave. and was joined on the same street by Korean bakery Sumi's Cakery in 2011 and Taiwanese bakery Pink Box in 2014. Its original iteration closed in May but reopened a couple of weeks later under new management, but the second version kept irregular hours and a limited menu.

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

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

Communicating with Headquarters in Taipei 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.

2017 Japanese movie Gintama (銀魂) in Pittsburgh, January 20.

The 2017 Japanese movie Gintama (銀魂) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on January 20. An August South China Morning Post review summarizes:

Samurai warriors and alien invaders exist side-by-side on the streets of Edo period Japan in Yuichi Fukuda’s big-screen adaptation of Hideaki Sorachi’s bestselling manga. While this chaotic mash-up of sci-fi and period drama aesthetics triggers a relentless sugar rush of visual stimuli, Gintama proves an exhausting and alienating experience for the uninitiated.

Released in Japan in July, Gintama is the third-highest grossing domestic film in Japan this year. Tickets for the January 20 screening are not yet available.

Korea Economic Institute's "The Future of Korea" in Pittsburgh, January 17.

The Korea Economic Institute of America [KEIA] and World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh will present "The Future of Korea" on January 17. A profile of this outreach program, from the KEIA:

KEI's Future of Korea is an outreach program that strengthens interest in U.S.-Korea relations with community members, scholars, and students outside of the DC metropolitan area. KEI hosts a series of six to ten programs annually with leading local World Affairs Councils throughout the United States.

The Future of Korea program features panel presentations by a team of up to three people, usually one member of KEI, a representative from the U.S. State Department Korea Desk, and a diplomat from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. The panel addresses all aspects of U.S.-Korea relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula, including political, economic, and security issues, followed by a question and answer session. In addition to the core event, the program often includes a similar panel discussion at a local university or high school and various media events. Other events are added depending on the wishes of the local host organization. These successful and popular programs have attracted as many as 2,000 participants in some cities.

The panel presentation will run from 11:30 to 1:00 pm, but a location has not been announced yet.

Third annual Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, April 2018.

Lawrenceville's Row House Cinema announced yesterday the first details of the third annual Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, coming in April 2018. It will run from April 6 through 19, will feature Neko Atsume House (ねこあつめの家) as the opening film, and will screen Your Name (君の名は), Sion Sono's Antiporno (アンチポルノ), and two Kurosawa films. Additional information will follow in the coming months.

Pitt still hiring Assistant Instructor of Korean Language.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures has reposted for a third time its advertisement for the Assistant Instructor of Korean Language position:

Assistant Instructor (Position available at University of Pittsburgh, Dept. of East Asian Languages & Literatures in Pittsburgh, PA): The individual will be responsible for the following duties: Teach Korean language to graduate and undergraduate students; Work closely with the language coordinator to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Korean language program; and Perform other academic duties as required.

Requirements: Must have Master’s degree in Korean Language, Linguistics or related field. Must possess one (1) year of experience teaching Korean at the University level. Must possess native or near-native proficiency in both Korean and English.

The University of Pittsburgh is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and values equality of opportunity, human dignity and diversity. EEO/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled

Those interested should submit resumes to Monika Losagio at losagio [at] pitt.edu.

Korean is the fastest-growing language at the university level, according to the Modern Language Association, and enrollment in first-year Korean courses at Pitt has increased nearly three-fold in the last decade.

CCAC recruiting Chinese teachers for Community Education Courses.

The Community College of Allegheny County is recruiting Chinese (and other language) instructors for its Community Education Courses. The school is offering a Chinese 1 course in the spring term at its Allegheny Campus on the North Side. An excerpt from the job posting:

1. The primary responsibilities of faculty are to teach and to develop the curriculum. Prepare and provide students with course outlines that support learning objectives set forth in the course syllabus. Assess student performance and maintain grade records.
2. Create an effective learning environment through the use of a variety of instructional methods.
3. Collaborate in the development and continued assessment of learning outcomes for use in program reviews and curriculum revision.
4. Participate in appropriate professional development activities to assure currency in both discipline, knowledge and instructional methods.
5. Collaborate in the development of program and/or discipline promotional materials.
6. Support the college's goals.
7. Perform other related duties as required or assigned.

2017 Chinese movie Youth (芳华) opens in Pittsburgh (for real this time), December 15.

The 2017 Chinese coming-of-age drama Youth (芳华), released in Mainland China on October 1, will play in Pittsburgh from December 15. It was originally set to open on September 29. A September 9 Variety review introduces the film:

The narrator Suizi (Zhong Chuxi), a stand-in for screenwriter Yan Geling (“The Flowers of War” and “Coming Home”), whose semi-biographical novel was the film’s literary source, belongs to a military dance troupe stationed in the Great Southwest. However, the central figure is actually Xiaoping (Miao Miao), whose father has been branded a Rightist and thrown in a re-education camp. She is recruited from Beijing by the good-looking and kind-hearted lead dancer Liu Feng (Huang Xuan).

The pristine surroundings of their training center and dreamy soft focus that accompanies the young dancers whenever they rehearse revolutionary ballets exude a rarefied atmosphere that reinforces how privileged the troupe is, shielded from hunger, violence and back-breaking labor at the height of the Cultural Revolution. And yet, a hierarchy based on political pedigree is firmly in place in the so-called classless society. Shuwen (Li Xiaofeng) the daughter of a general and hospital supervisor, is the queen bee. Dingding (Yang Caiyu) scores with her looks, while Mongolian Drolma (Sui Yuan) plays her ethnic minority card.

Tickets and showtime information is available 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.

MEPPI Japan Lecture Series - Tokyo, One of the Safest Cities in the World, January 18.

"Tokyo" by kalcul (Creative Commons).

Advance notice for the first MEPPI Japan Lecture Series of 2018, "Tokyo, One of the Safest Cities in the World" on January 18. The lecture series is presented by the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc.

Why is Tokyo so safe? After devoting 15 years to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Police Inspector Naruomi Ebitani now works at Carnegie Mellon University researching information security. From his experience in both countries and his police officer’s perspective, he will address the differences between policing and crime in Japan and the United States.

The lecture runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall and is free and open to the public. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Japanese Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人の日) at Pitt for students turning 20, January 10.

Kasai does 成人の日 in 2010.

A large cohort of students from Yasuda Women's University is studying at Pitt's English Language Institute this fall and will miss the traditional Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人の日) in Hiroshima next month, so the Asian Studies Center will hold its own ceremony on January 10. The Asian Studies Center introduces Pitt's ceremony:

A local government official will preside over the ceremony here in Pittsburgh and a Yasuda University student will give the student address. The ceremony is open not only to the ELI students, but also Pitt students, especially those studying Japanese, who are turning 20 (between April 2, 2017 and April 1, 2018).

And Japan Visitor introduces the day and its traditions:

Seijin Shiki or 成人式 could be translated as 'Coming of Age Day Ceremony' in English. Seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age Day) is a Japanese public holiday that occurs on every second Monday of January.

Coming of Age Day or Adult's Day honors every person that has turned 20 years old over the past year. When young people reach twenty they officially become adults in Japanese society and they now have responsibilities as well as newfound liberties: such as being able to drink, smoke, go to hostess bars, gamble and to drive legally. The voting age was lowered from 20 to 18 in 2015.

The girls always wear gorgeous and very expensive kimono, although most admit to having rentals as the outfit is worth up to 1,000,000 yen. The boys usually wear a regular suit and tie but a few will wear traditional Japanese dress.

It runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in Ballroom B of the University Club (map), and those interested should email asia [at] pitt.edu.

Studio Ghibli Film Series continues at Row House Cinema for another week.

The Row House Cinema's Studio Ghibli Film Series, which opened on December 1, will run for another week through 14 and highlight the acclaimed Japanese animation studio. The six films comprising the series are: 1991's Only Yesterday (おもひでぽろぽろ), 1992's Porco Rosso (紅の豚), 1997's Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), 2001's Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し), and 2013's The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語) and The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ).

Ticket and showtime information is available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

This year's trend replaces 2015's at Ross Park Mall.

Icy Roll 2.0 just before it opened last month.

Icy Roll 2.0 recently opened in Ross Park Mall, replacing a bubble tea place next to the Sears on the second floor. Thai-styled rolled ice cream places have opened everywhere in Pittsburgh over the past year, from the suburbs to the inside of a hot-pot place to a gas station in Bloomfield. Squirrel Hill is getting its first sometime next year when the newest 15 Fahrenheit location opens. This is in contrast to 2014 and 2015, when an Asian eatery couldn't operate in the city without sticking bubble tea somewhere on the menu.

HCL Technologies hiring Bilingual Japanese Query Understanding Analyst for position onsite at Google.

HCL Technologies is hiring a Bilingual Japanese Query Understanding Analyst for a position working onsite at Google in Larimer. The posting, via Monster.com:

Bilingual Japanese Query Understanding Analyst is a full-time job through HCL America, Inc. onsite at Google Pittsburgh. You will work to enhance users’ online shopping experience by performing in-depth product research, analyzing the user query stream, and improving query classifier performance using highly technical internal tools and processes. It is part of a fast-paced environment, partnering closely with operations and engineering teams. Native or near-native Japanese reading/writing fluency is preferred and spending significant time living/working in the Japanese culture is a plus.

Pedagogical Technology Mini Workshop: Anki, December 8 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will present part two of this term's Pedagogical Technology Mini Workshops with a presentation on Anki by Dr. Stephen Luft, the coordinator of Pitt's Japanese program.

Assigning study with Anki as homework: This presentation will describe how to hold students accountable for studying with Anki, a free flashcard program, outside of class. While the presentation will focus on using Anki to aid retention of newly learned characters (e.g., kanji), it is considered to be applicable to a wide variety of subjects.

The workshop starts at 12:00 in 4130 Posvar Hall (map).

2016 Japanese movie Harmonium (淵に立つ at Carnegie Library in Oakland, January 7.

Next month's International Cinema Sunday will feature the 2016 Japanese movie Harmonium (淵に立つ), which played at this year's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival. From a 2016 Variety review:

Even before the arrival of the mysterious Mr. Yasaka (Tadanobu Asano), the marriage of Toshio (Kanji Furutachi), the owner of a small machine shop, and his self-effacing wife, Akie (Mariko Tsutsui), appears passionless. Polite but distant, they share meals and the care of their small daughter, Hotaru, with so little intimacy that when Toshio offers Yasaka a room and a job, he doesn’t even ask his wife’s opinion. All too soon, though, he’ll have cause to regret his impulsiveness.

The movie plays from 2:00 to 4:30 pm at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's main branch in Oakland 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, 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

Former Pirates pitcher Masumi Kuwata again on Japanese Hall of Fame ballot.

Via Kyodo Photo.

On November 28 the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame announced its ballot for the Class of 2018, and former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Masumi Kuwata (桑田真澄) again made the list. Kuwata, the first Japanese player in Pirates history, pitched briefly for Pittsburgh in 2007 as a 39-year-old rookie. He accumulated 173 wins in Japan, 106 of which came before an elbow injury in 1995 that kept him out for almost two seasons. Results of the Hall of Fame voting will be announced on January 15.

Tracing his career on his Baseball-Reference.com wiki page, it follows a trajectory common among Pittsburgh Pirates free agents of that era:

"1987-1994: The Glory Years," "1995-1996: Injury," "1997-2002: Post-Injury," "2003-2006: Further decline," "To the USA."

He pitched 19 games in relief in 2007 but was demoted to Triple A in August, two days after his family arrived in Pittsburgh to see him play against the Giants. He retired the following spring:

Kuwata, a baseball superstar in his native Japan, formally announced his retirement after the Pirates' 7-4 victory against the Detroit Tigers this afternoon, a game in which manager John Russell asked him to pitch one final time as a show of respect. But he declined.

"He told us he's pitched thousands of innings, that we should use that time to look at pitchers for our future," Russell said. "He's a class act, a true professional and a great human being. We wish him the best of luck in everything he does."

The ritual at the mound was meant to symbolize a farewell to the game. And, although Kuwata's impact in Pittsburgh was negligible, some in the assembled Japanese media were saying that this farewell would top their nation's news for the day.

"He's a legend in our country," said reporter Yasuko Yanagita, who broke the story of Kuwata's retirement for the Hochi Shimbun sports daily. "Everyone will want to know about this, and everyone will be surprised."

2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) coming to Row House Cinema, too.

The 2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花), scheduled to play at Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters on January 18, 2018, will also play at the Row House Cinema as part of it's New Animated Films series from January 19 through 25.

Ariba hiring bilingual Chinese-English Procurement Operations Specialist for overnight position.

Pittsburgh-based Ariba is again hiring a bilingual Chinese-English Procurement Operations Specialist for an 8:00 pm to 5:00 am shift. An excerpt from the job posting:

The Customer Support Specialist is the face and voice of Ariba to our customers, building relationships in each interaction. Specialists help our customers maximize the benefits of Ariba solutions to facilitate a global exchange of goods and services in the world’s largest business to business trading community. They use their expertise and collaborate with team members and customers across the globe to provide detailed solutions that exceed expectations.

Chinese movie Explosion (引爆者) to continue in Pittsburgh through December 6.

The 2017 Chinese movie Explosion (引爆者), which opened in Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving, will continue in town through December 6. The Hollywood Reporter provides a summary of the film that closed the 2017 Shanghai International Film Festival in June:

More thriller than actioner, and influenced by stylish art cinema more than Hollywood, it starts off with quite a bang. In the claustrophobic bowels of a mine, a blast goes wrong and sends a flaming fireball racing through the shaft in a brief but effective disaster scene that leaves four workmen dead and the audience hungry for more.

Duan Yi-hong . . . is gritty and glammed down as experienced blast technician Zhou Yu-dong. He's stunned and injured by the explosion, but instead of rushing him to the nearest hospital, his gangster-boss Li Yi knocks him down for screwing up, then throws hush money at him. The four victims, who are seen only from their burnt feet, are quickly buried.

Zhou is too expert not to smell a rat. Exiled from the mine, he moodily hangs around a local eatery run by his eye-catching girlfriend . . . until he makes up his mind to investigate what really happened.

The movie plays in Mandarin with English subtitles. Tickets and showtime information 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.

Six films part of Studio Ghibli Film Series at Row House Cinema, December 1 - 14.

The Row House Cinema's next Studio Ghibli Film Series will run from December 1 through 14 and highlight the acclaimed Japanese animation studio. The six films to comprise the series are: 1991's Only Yesterday (おもひでぽろぽろ), 1992's Porco Rosso (紅の豚), 1997's Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), 2001's Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し), and 2013's The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語) and The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ).

Ticket and showtime information is now available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Japanese speakers (and students of Japanese) wanted for recordings for local documentary on Daigo Fukuryū Maru, November 28.

The boat on display in Tokyo, via Daigo Fukuryuu Maru Exibition Hall.

A local filmmaker is looking for Japanese speakers (native and non-native alike) to record a few lines for an upcoming documentary on Daigo Fukuryū Maru, a Japanese tuna fishing boat that was contaminated as a result of an American nuclear weapons test in 1954.

Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) in Pittsburgh area, November 26 and 27.

The 2004 Hayao Miyazaki film Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) will play at Pittsburgh area Cinemark theaters on November 26 and 27 as the final installment of the GKIDS Ghibli Fest 2017. The distributor provides a summary:

From director Hayao Miyazaki, "Howl’s Moving Castle", is an Academy Award®-nominated acclaimed fantasy based on the novel of the same name. Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. But after this chance meeting, the young girl is turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain, conniving Witch of the Waste. Embarking on an incredible adventure to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl’s magical moving castle.

As the true power of Howl’s wizardry is revealed, and his relationship with Sophie deepens, our young grey heroine finds herself fighting to protect them both from a dangerous war of sorcery that threatens their world.

The movie will play at Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills Cinemark theaters on two days: the English-dubbed version will play on November 26 and the English-subtitled version on November 27.

"Death and Literature: Time, Sickness, and Writing," November 27 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Robert Tierney and his talk "Death and Literature: Time, Sickness, and Writing" on Monday, November 27.

Storytime: Chinese & English, November 25 in Squirrel Hill.

This month's installment of Storytime: Chinese & English will be held on Saturday, November 25 at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill.

Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Chinese. For children birth – 5 years and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am and is free and open to the public. The library is located at 5801 Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill (map) and is accessible via buses 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, 64, and 74.

Chinese movie Explosion (引爆者) opens in Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving.

The 2017 Chinese movie Explosion (引爆者) will open in Pittsburgh on November 23. The Hollywood Reporter provides a summary of the film that closed the 2017 Shanghai International Film Festival in June:

More thriller than actioner, and influenced by stylish art cinema more than Hollywood, it starts off with quite a bang. In the claustrophobic bowels of a mine, a blast goes wrong and sends a flaming fireball racing through the shaft in a brief but effective disaster scene that leaves four workmen dead and the audience hungry for more.

Duan Yi-hong . . . is gritty and glammed down as experienced blast technician Zhou Yu-dong. He's stunned and injured by the explosion, but instead of rushing him to the nearest hospital, his gangster-boss Li Yi knocks him down for screwing up, then throws hush money at him. The four victims, who are seen only from their burnt feet, are quickly buried.

Zhou is too expert not to smell a rat. Exiled from the mine, he moodily hangs around a local eatery run by his eye-catching girlfriend . . . until he makes up his mind to investigate what really happened.

The movie plays in Mandarin with English subtitles. Tickets and showtime information 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.

New restoration of 1953 Japanese movie Ugetsu (雨月物語) at Row House Cinema, from November 24.

A new 4K digital restoration of the 1953 Japanese movie Ugetsu (雨月物語) will play at the Row House Cinema from November 24 through 30 as part of the theater's Poetry of Images series. The distributor provides a summary:

By the time he made Ugetsu, Kenji Mizoguchi was already an elder statesman of Japanese cinema, fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other directors of a younger generation. And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and fortune leads them far astray from their loyal wives. Moving between the terrestrial and the otherworldly, Ugetsu reveals essential truths about the ravages of war, the plight of women, and the pride of men.

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

Japanese electronic music artist Cornelius (コーネリアス) to play in Pittsburgh in March.

Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada, also known as Cornelius (コーネリアス) and whose newest music can be roughly categorized as downbeat, will play at Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland on March 10, 2018, as part of next year's tour of US and Mexico. The Andy Warhol Museum summarizes:

Beginning with his 1997 release Fantasma on Matador Records, Cornelius (the name is an homage to the Planet of the Apes) gained much critical praise as the “modern day Brian Wilson” for his lush orchestral/pop arrangements and quickly became an in-demand producer working with artists such as Beck, Bloc Party, and MGMT. Oyamada’s forays into scoring films include Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and the anime mega-film Ghost in the Shell Arise, as well as being a key performer in Yoko Ono’s reformed Plastic Ono Band.

Tickets for this Sound Series event are currently available online for $25 for adults or $20 for students and museum members.

Mochi Workshop at Pitt, November 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Chinese American Students Association will hold a mochi-making workshop on November 18. It runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in room 630 of the William Pitt Union (map). Registration and $5 payment for supplies is due on Friday, November 17.

"No war against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea!" November 18 in Oakland.

The Pittsburgh Anti-Imperialist League will host Derek Ford of Depauw University for "No war against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea!" on November 18.

Join a discussion on the origins of the current crisis and the movement against a new war by the US empire against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK.

Our speaker Derek Ford, assistant professor at DePauw University, has recently returned from DPRK in August 2017 as an organizer of the latest "Korea Peace Tour", the last civilian tour to DPRK before the travel ban by the Trump regime went into effect. In 2016, Mr. Ford also travelled to South Korea representing the ANSWER Coalition as he participated in the International Forum on Peace and Reunification, visited political prisoners and held meetings with progressive organizations, and joined in several protests and actions.

The Trump regime has consistenly engaged in dangerous escalations in Korea, risking re-opening the Korean War. Such a war would risk millions of lives across Asia while sending many poor and working people in the US to do the killing and dying for the US capitalist class.

The event runs from 3:30 to 5:30 pm in the Barco Law Building (room 111) at the University of Pittsburgh (map), and is free and open to the public.