1997 animated film Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) continues in Pittsburgh through April 9 with 4K IMAX screenings.

The 1997 animated film Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), which opened in Pittsburgh on March 26, will continue here through (at least) April 9 in a series of 4K IMAX screenings.

While defending his village from a demonic boar-god, young warrior Ashitaka becomes afflicted with a deadly curse that grants him super-human power in battle but eventually will take his life. Traveling west to find a cure and meet his destiny, he journeys deep into sacred depths of the Great Forest where he meets San (aka Princess Mononoke), a girl raised by wolf-gods. Mononoke is a force of nature, riding bareback on a great white wolf and terrorizing the human outpost of Iron Town on the edge of the forest.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront on March 26 and March 28 through April 1, and tickets are available online.

Annual Japan Association of Greater Pittsburgh picnic, May 24.

The Japan Association of Greater Pittsburgh (ピッツバーグ日本協会) will hold its annual picnic on May 24 in Fox Chapel. Registration is required by April 30.

ピッツバーグ日本協会では、2025年5月24日（土）にピクニックを開催します！

バーベキューを楽しみながら、ギフト券が当たる抽選会も予定しています。
ご家族・ご友人をお誘いあわせのうえ、ぜひご参加ください！
 日時：5/24（土）午後1時～4時頃（雨天決行・荒天中止）
 場所：O'Hara Township Community Park Shelter
 参加費：
会員：無料
非会員＝Donation（12歳以上＝$10, 4～11歳＝$5, 3歳以下＝なし）
 ※当日までにご入会いただければ、参加費は無料になります
 （年会費：家族$40、個人$30、学生$20）


 申込締切：4月30日（水）
 ▼申込フォーム：https://forms.gle/eNEMjcmGc8c9g8RZ6
 　詳細は添付PDFをご覧ください。

 ご質問は pittsburghjagp@gmail.com までお気軽にどうぞ！

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The Japan Association of Greater Pittsburgh will host a picnic on Saturday, May 24.
There will be barbecue and a gift card raffle. Friends and family are welcome.
Time: 1:00–4:00 PM (rain or shine)
 Location: O'Hara Township Community Park Shelter
 Fee: Members free /Non-members: Donation appreciated$10 (12+), $5 (ages 4–11), Free (under 3)
Join as a member and your donation will be waived.
RSVP by April 30:
 https://forms.gle/eNEMjcmGc8c9g8RZ6

 O'Hara Township Community Park is located on Fox Chapel Rd., a short distance from Exit 8 of Route 28 and accessible by city bus 91 (map).

Dang Poke & Boba Tea soft opens in Cranberry.

Dang Poke & Boba Tea soft opened yesterday, March 31, in Cranberry. Signage went up for the new spot a few weeks ago at 20018 US-19 Suite 500, in the Oak Tree Plaza next to Jimmy John's (map).

"Proudly family owned and operated since 2025," it has eight varieties of poke bowls, a build-your-own-bowl menu, a selection of Asian appetizers---spring rolls, tempura, edamame, among others---and an assortment of drinks and bubble teas: options generally missing from the food scene north of the city.

Dang Poke & Boba Tea is open 11:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 am to 7:00 pm on Sunday.

R.F. Kuang in Pittsburgh as part of Ten Evenings series, April 28.

Author R.F. Kuang will speak in Pittsburgh as part of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures' Ten Evenings series on April 28.

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American–in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

When June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song–complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, and Yellowface. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she studies diaspora, contemporary Sinophone literature, and Asian American literature.

Copies of the book are available to purchase at White Whale Bookstore, and tickets for the event are now available online. The event takes place at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland (map) and will also be livestreamed.

Telling the Multiple Histories of Island Taiwan: The Case of the National Museum of Taiwan History, March 28 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Library will host "Telling the Multiple Histories of Island Taiwan: The Case of the National Museum of Taiwan History" on March 28.

This presentation will focus on the exhibitions and publications of the National Taiwan Museum of History as key examples, exploring contemporary Taiwan's collective memory and public discourse featuring Dr. Lung-chih Chang 張隆志, Director of National Museum of Taiwan History. Dr. Lung-chih Chang 張隆志 specializes in Social & cultural history of Taiwan, ethnic relations, comparative colonialism, and Taiwanese historiography.

This event is sponsored by Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies and the University of Pittsburgh Library System's East Asian Library.

It runs from 3:30 to 5:00 pm in the 3rd floor Archives & Special Collections Instruction Room (map), and is free and open to the public.

Joe Hisaishi Conducts the PSO, September 13 and 14.

Japanese conductor and composter Joe Hisaishi will conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) on September 13 and 14.

Globally renowned award-winning composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, Joe Hisaishi, make his long-awaited debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Hisaishi, who is best known for his epic concert works as well as enchanting film scores, takes to the podium to conduct his own compositions including a new concert version of music from the 2023 Golden-Globe winning Studio Ghibli Film, “The Boy and the Heron,” and the US Premiere of Hisaishi’s work, The End of the World. The PSO will be joined onstage by the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.

The suite The End of the World by Joe Hisaishi was inspired by his visit to New York in the fall of 2007. He began composing the work in 2008. The suite explores the theme of "anxiety and chaos" resulting from the collapse of world order and values caused by the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Joe Hisaishi says : “I am honored to join Pittsburgh Symphony this Fall for the first time. The centre of the concert, my End of the World Suite was written for the people of the USA and I’m excited to make the US premiere of this work in Pittsburgh alongside pieces that reflect on this mood as well as new music which I hope this audience will enjoy”

The performances will be September 13 at 7:30 pm and September 14 at 2:30 pm at Heinz Hall in downtown's Cultural District (map). Tickets are available online.

Concert film SEVENTEEN [RIGHT HERE] WORLD TOUR IN CINEMAS in Pittsburgh, April 2 and 5.

The upcoming concert film SEVENTEEN [RIGHT HERE] WORLD TOUR IN CINEMAS will play in Pittsburgh on April 2 and 5.

SEVENTEEN RIGHT HERE! Experience the unforgettable moments of SEVENTEEN [RIGHT HERE] WORLD TOUR on the big screen, starting with the electrifying kickoff concert in Goyang! From the special concert version of "Fear" to exclusive live performances of "LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)" and "Ash", the full setlist—available only at the concert—will be screened in its entirety! Get ready to be immersed in the dynamic charm of SEVENTEEN’s three iconic units—Hip-hop Unit, Performance Unit, and Vocal Unit—as well as a thrilling relay of their biggest title tracks, showcasing SEVENTEEN’s A to Z! A legendary moment, created by SEVENTEEN, for SEVENTEEN, and with SEVENTEEN, comes to life once again!

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Taste of Asia Asian Food Festival, May 11 at Heinz History Center.

The third annual Taste of Asia Asian Food Festival will take place on May 11 at the Heinz History Center. The three-hour festival will feature food from 15 restaurants plus cultural performances and other attractions. The restaurant and vendor line-up includes, so far: Bombay & Burgh, Chengdu Gourmet, Hungry Panda, HK Dim Sum, Kung Fu Chicken 2, Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings, Pho Van, Szechuan Spice House, Sushi Fuku, Tous les Jours, Yujian Bao, and 1:11 Juice Bar, with a few others set to be announced soon.

The event runs from 12:00 to 3:00 pm, and the Heinz History Center is located at 1212 Smallman St. in the Strip District (map).

Pittsburgh Japanese School looks to relocate after Shady Side Academy building sold to Aviary.

Ceremony for the first day of school in April. 

The Pittsburgh Japanese School in Fox Chapel is scouting new locations as work nears completion on the new Middle School campus and after news of the current grounds' impending sale. In February it was reported the National Aviary had purchased the campus; Shady Side Academy and PJS students will discontinue use of the building in December.

The Pittsburgh Japanese School was established in 1977 and offers education in the Japanese curriculum for Japanese and Japanese-American children from pre-kindergarten through high school.

Located on the beautiful campus of Shady Side Academy, PJS is one of the three supplementary Japanese schools in Pennsylvania. We offer Japanese instruction for grades Pre-K - 12th in accordance with the guidelines and curriculum set by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.

The primary purpose of PJS is to provide a Japanese curriculum for children of Japanese families who have relocated to the Pittsburgh area so that their children may make a smooth transition back to the rigorous Japanese educational system upon their eventual return. The secondary purpose of PJS is to provide children who are fluent or proficient in Japanese with the opportunity to receive instruction in Japanese and to participate in the cultural traditions of Japan while residing in the Pittsburgh area on a long term basis.

The Pittsburgh Japanese School is grateful to the Japanese government and the Office of the Consulate General of Japan in New York for providing us with funding, invaluable advice, textbooks, and other educational materials which allow us to deliver quality education to our students. We are equally grateful for the continued support of our warm community, our dedicated teachers and staff, and our friends and families who all generously donate their time and energy into making our school a truly unique “home away from home”.

As detailed on its website, the Pittsburgh Japanese School has moved to increasingly large spaces after its formation, including Fox Chapel Area High School in 1994, before finally moving to Shady Side Academy in 2006. The present location offers classroom space for each grade level, a cafeteria, a Japanese-language library, a gymnasium, and outdoor spaces for classes and an annual sports day (運動会).

Those with potential leads on viable school campuses may contact the PJS office at office [at] pittsburghjapaneseschool.org.

Japanese ambassador and consul general Shinichi Nishimiya visits a pre-kindergarten class in August 2009, ahead of the G-20 summit. (Photo via August 31, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)

Concert film ZEROBASEONE The First Tour: Timeless World in Pittsburgh, from March 28.

The concert film ZEROBASEONE The First Tour: Timeless World will play in Pittsburgh March 28, 29, and 30.

ZEROBASEONE's first world tour concert movie is coming to cinemas worldwide! Achieving significant milestones in their first year of debut and captivating 140,000 fans across 8 cities on their first world tour, ZEROBASEONE’s journey with ZEROSE takes center stage on the big screen. From iconic songs such as "In Bloom", "Feel the POP", and "GOOD SO BAD" to “Say My Name” and “Here I Am” from the show Boys Planet, behind-the-scenes footage that can only be found in the movie, to intimate interviews brimming with heartfelt feelings for ZEROSE. ZEROBASEONE’s groundbreaking performance is coming to the big screen. The time ZEROBASEONE spent with ZEROSE that will forever be remembered as the best day ZEROBASEONE THE FIRST TOUR [TIMELESS WORLD] IN CINEMAS.

It it scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theater in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

2025 Japanese animated movie Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing (劇場版プロジェクトセカイ 壊れたセカイと歌えないミク) in Pittsburgh, from April 17.

The 2025 Japanese animated movie Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing (劇場版プロジェクトセカイ 壊れたセカイと歌えないミク) will play in Pittsburgh from April 17.

COLORFUL STAGE! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing is an animation film by studio P.A.WORKS featuring an all-new Hatsune Miku and the first film with the iconic Virtual Singer. Based on HATSUNE MIKU: COLORFUL STAGE!, a game about high school students finding their true feelings through music in an alternate world called “SEKAI" with the help of Hatsune Miku. Ichika is a high school musician who can enter a mysterious place called “SEKAI,” where she and her friends express their innermost emotions through music alongside Hatsune Miku. One day after giving a live performance, Ichika meets a new Miku that she has never seen before. No matter how hard this new Miku tries to sing, she struggles connecting with the hearts of her listeners. Miku must rely on the help of others to find a way to sing again.

It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the AMC Westmoreland in Greensburg, and tickets are available online.

Japanese animated movie Kaiju no 8: Mission Recon, largely a compilation film of season one, in Pittsburgh, April 13, 14, and 16.

The Japanese animated movie Kaiju no 8: Mission Recon, a recap of the anime's season one combined with a new episode, will play in Pittsburgh on April 13, 14, and 16.

In a Kaiju-filled Japan, Kafka Hibino works in monster disposal. After reuniting with his childhood friend Mina Ashiro, a rising star in the anti-Kaiju Defense Force, he decides to pursue his abandoned dream of joining the Force, when he suddenly transforms into the powerful "Kaiju No. 8."

It plays locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Dang Poke & Boba Tea opening in Cranberry in April.

via its Facebook page

Dang Poke & Boba Tea will be opening soon in Cranberry. "Proudly family owned and operated since 2025," Dang Poke & Boba Tea will have eight varieties of poke bowls, a build-your-own-bowl menu, a selection of Asian appetizers---spring rolls, tempura, edamame, among others---and an assortment of drinks and bubble teas. It is located at 20018 US-19 Suite 500, in the Oak Tree Plaza next to Jimmy John's (map).

"Visiting Artist Lecture Series: Joan Kee," April 15 at CMU School of Art.

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Art will host Joan Kee on April 15, parts of its Visiting Artist Lecture Series.

Joan Kee is Judy and Michael Steinhardt Director of the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. A specialist in modern and contemporary art, her books include Contemporary Korean Art: Tansaekhwa and the Urgency of Method (2013), Models of Integrity: Art and Law in Post-Sixties America (2019), and The Geometries of Afro Asia: Art beyond Solidarity (2023) which was awarded the 2024 Robert Motherwell Book Award for a publication in the history and criticism of modernism in the arts. A contributing editor to Artforum and an editor-at-large for the Brooklyn Rail, Kee’s work has appeared in numerous venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, LACMA, and the Guggenheim Museum.

The talk runs from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in Kresge Theatre (map).

2025 Philippine movie My Love Will Make You Disappear in Pittsburgh, from March 27.

The 2025 Philippine movie My Love Will Make You Disappear will play in Pittsburgh from March 27.

A woman who believes she's cursed meets a troubled landlord while fighting community displacement. As they grow closer, her fear that all her lovers disappear threatens their connection.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theater in Robinson through April 3, and tickets are available online.

2016 Korean film The Handmaiden (아가씨) in Pittsburgh, from April 11.

The 2016 Korean film The Handmaiden (아가씨) will play at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville from April 11 through April 17, part of its Erotic Thrillers series.

Park Chan-wook’s visually stunning and suspenseful South Korean psychological thriller that weaves a tale of deception, betrayal, and forbidden love. In 1930s Korea, a swindler and a young woman pose as a Japanese count and a handmaiden to seduce a Japanese heiress and steal her fortune.

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

Jordan Wong Artist Talk and PRACTICE +/- Exhibit Walk Through, free, March 28 in Bakery Square.

The Portal Art Gallery in Bakery Square will host an Artist Talk and Exhibit Walk Through with Jordan Wong on March 28. The gallery provides an overview of the exhibit:

PRACTICE +/- shares the contemplations and visual dynamism of artist Jordan Wong (WONGFACE). Building on his recent exhibition, Play is Infinite, at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (on view in 2025), this body of work furthers Wong’s imaginative exploration of the Ultimate Self, the endless possibilities of leveling up in life, and the transformative power of play.

The artwork is inspired by the question, 'What am I practicing?' It stems from the artist's ongoing examination of his own thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are repeated both consciously and—most importantly—subconsciously. The work also celebrates the philosophy that play inspires practice and, in turn, fosters greater play, emphasizing the power that comes from complete freedom to explore, experiment, and express.

Spanning a range of media, the exhibition blends traditional techniques like screen printing and aquatint etching with contemporary industrial processes such as digital UV printing and laser engraving. These dynamic methods reflect Wong’s layered approach, echoing his personal journey of identity as an artist and belonging as a second-generation Chinese American.

The event begins at 6:00 pm and is free and open to the public. The Portal Art Gallery is "located in the thoroughfare through Bakery Office One from Bakery Square Boulevard to East Liberty Boulevard" (map).

Pittsburgh Opera presents Madama Butterfly, featuring an entirely Japanese and Japanese-American creative team, from March 22.

Pittsburgh Opera will present Madama Butterfly from March 22 through March 30 with an entirely Japanese and Japanese-American creative team. PennsylvAsia readers can save 20% on tickets through an exclusive promo code.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY

Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa • MARCH 22, 25, 28, 30, 2025

His escape is her cage.

In this groundbreaking new production created by an all-Japanese and Japanese American creative team, Madama Butterfly’s story is transported to a fantastical realm where reality and dreams intersect.

Pinkerton puts on a VR headset and transports us into a vibrant virtual reality playground where he has ultimate control. As his avatar, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant, he can seduce and marry his fantasy girl and abandon her just as easily. But to Cio-Cio San, this is no game and the love and betrayal she feels is all too real.

Enveloped in Puccini’s stunning music, this visually beautiful production is the perfect match. Pittsburgh Opera is proud to partner with Cincinnati Opera, Detroit Opera, and Utah Opera to co-produce this reinvention of Puccini’s classic, uncovering new and resonant meaning for all audiences to enjoy.

 

Pennsylvasia readers can save 20% with the promo code POASIA!

Tickets are now available online. The performances are held at the Benedum Center in downtown's Cultural District (map).

Archives & Special Collections Gallery Talk- Guardians of Nature: Animals in Chinese Culture and Conservation!, March 26 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's University Library System will host "Archives & Special Collections Gallery Talk- Guardians of Nature: Animals in Chinese Culture and Conservation" on March 26.

Join us to learn more about the new exhibit Guardians of Nature: Animals in Chinese Culture and Conservation!

Guardians of Nature explores the rich symbolism of animals in Chinese culture, from ancient representations to contemporary reflections on endangered species. In this exhibit, you’ll encounter prints, stamps, and various objects that illustrate how animals have been revered, symbolized, and protected in Chinese history. You'll also see how these creatures are central to cultural beliefs, from the mythical creatures of ancient times to today’s conservation efforts. Alongside curator Shuyang Shi, PhD Student in History at the University of Pittsburgh, you'll explore the significance of these animals and gain insight into how China’s relationship with wildlife has evolved over the centuries.

The talk runs from 12:00 to 12:30 pm at the Hillman Library's 3rd Floor Exhibit Cases (map). 

 

2025 Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 (哪吒之魔童闹海), now the top-grossing animated film of all time, remains in Pittsburgh through (at least) March 26.

The 2025 Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 (哪吒之魔童闹海), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 13, will remain here through at least March 26.

After the catastrophe, although the souls of Nezha and Aobing were saved, their bodies would soon be shattered. Taiyi Zhenren planned to use the seven-colored lotus to rebuild their bodies.

Ne Zha 2 recently became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.

Pittsburgh Sakura Project Hanami, cherry blossom viewing festival, April 5.

via the Project's 2020 gallery

The Pittsburgh Sakura Project will host its annual Hanami on April 5 at North Park. 

2025 Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) Event  in North Park

Date and time: Saturday, April 5, 2025, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Location: North Park, Harmony Shelter (near the Boathouse)

Participation fee: Free

Activities: Do as you like, enjoy the cherry blossoms in bloom. We will provide a cherry blossom site tour, a tree care demonstration, drinks and snacks (while available).

Any updated information will also be provided through the Pittsburgh Sakura Project Google Group, so if you are interested, we recommend that you subscribe.

"Cooking With Kimchi Demonstration and Tasting," April 30 at East End Food Co-op.

The East End Food Co-op will host Jeonghee Choi and "Cooking With Kimchi Demonstration and Tasting" on April 30.

Join Jeonghee Choi from YeGa Kimchi for an evening with Korea's most popular fermented side dish! At this event, Jeonghee will demonstrate how to utilize kimchi in various ways, including pancakes and tacos.

Each participant will receive an 8 oz. container of napa cabbage kimchi, and a mini book of tips & recipes put together by Jeonghee. Guests will be able to sample different dishes and ask questions about preparing and using kimchi.

A limited number of tickets are availabvle online, from $35. The East End Food Co-op is located at 7516 Meade St. in Point Breeze (map).

Kpop Club Night ft DJ CHEN, March 20 at Enclave.

Southside night club Enclave will host a Kpop Club Night with DJ Chen on March 20.

Don’t miss the best dance party on the planet when @kpopclubnight finally touches down in Pittsburgh with mixmaster @djchenofficial serving up the best in Korean music for the dance-floor on Thursday March 20th. Tickets on sale now, get yours now before they sell out!

Tickets are available online. Enclave is located at 1602 E. Carson St. (map).

Concert film ZEROBASEONE The First Tour: Timeless World in Pittsburgh, from March 28.

The concert film ZEROBASEONE The First Tour: Timeless World will play in Pittsburgh March 28, 29, and 30.

ZEROBASEONE's first world tour concert movie is coming to cinemas worldwide! Achieving significant milestones in their first year of debut and captivating 140,000 fans across 8 cities on their first world tour, ZEROBASEONE’s journey with ZEROSE takes center stage on the big screen. From iconic songs such as "In Bloom", "Feel the POP", and "GOOD SO BAD" to “Say My Name” and “Here I Am” from the show Boys Planet, behind-the-scenes footage that can only be found in the movie, to intimate interviews brimming with heartfelt feelings for ZEROSE. ZEROBASEONE’s groundbreaking performance is coming to the big screen. The time ZEROBASEONE spent with ZEROSE that will forever be remembered as the best day ZEROBASEONE THE FIRST TOUR [TIMELESS WORLD] IN CINEMAS.

It it scheduled to play locally, so far, at the Cinemark theater in Robinson and tickets are available online.

Elizabeth Rodwell and "The Machine Without the Ghost: Early interactive television in Japan," March 19 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Elizabeth Rodwell and her talk "The Machine Without the Ghost: Early interactive television in Japan" on March 19, part of this year's ASIA POP lecture series.

This article is part of an ongoing ethnography of the Japanese television industry focusing on its attempts to experiment with live, interactive content that was manipulable via smart devices, laptops, and remote controls. Based on 18 months of fieldwork in the Japanese television industry in four major TV network offices and two production companies, it also incorporates interviews with more than 30 broadcast company employees. Using two case studies of early interactive television programming to discuss the strategies producers have used to create community and promote identification among audiences of these shows: ‘Arashi Feat. You’ was a live music event that courted a large audience through the involvement of a massively popular boy band and promoted the idea of ‘turning viewers into users’ by allowing them to play musical instruments along with the band. ‘The Last Award’ allowed participants to submit and evaluate each other’s videos live through a dedicated user interface. Through these examples, Rodwell argues that participation alters the nature of television spectacle and results in changes to the way producers address and inscribe audiences as cocreators of content. The rhetoric used by interactive television accordingly defaults to ‘we’ and ‘us’ and features accessible and relatable celebrities as surrogates for the audience.

Elizabeth Rodwell is a media anthropologist who is interested in interactivity, television, emergent technology (in general), and artificial intelligence (specifically). She is also a usability researcher (UX). My first book Push the Button: Interactive Television and Collaborative Journalism in Japan (forthcoming) examines the post-Fukushima tensions in the Japanese journalism and television industries, and seeks to account for the ways that media professionals are responding to increasingly skeptical and distracted audiences. She tracks the global debut of interactive television in Japan– a cutting-edge fusion of mediums that represented the most dramatic departure from existing television technology in several decades.

The talk runs from 6:00 to 7:15 pm in 149 Cathedral of Learning (map).

"Movies & Motors" with Row House Cinema's Japanese Film Festival and Pittsburgh Kyūsha, March 22.

Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville and Pittsburgh Kyūsha will collaborate on "Movies & Motors" on March 22.

Join @pittsburgh_kyusha on March 22nd at @rowhouse_lawrenceville for a special feature taking place during the Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival ( @jffpgh )

Come get up close and personal with iconic right-hand-drive (RHD) cars imported from Japan. Also, experience Japanese cultural demonstrations from our friends at @japanamericasocietypa and see some of @milliestinyvan tiny JDM fleet vehicles!

For anyone wishing to participate in the show with their RHD vehicle please RSVP no later than March 15th to ensure we have a spot for you.

For more info about the films being shown and to buy tickets to all screenings, you can visit the Japanese Film Fest website at:

https://jffpgh.org/

"Movies & Motors" festivities start at 2:30 pm.  Several movies are scheduled to run that day: The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人) at 12:00 pm, The Colors Within (きみの色)  at 2:50 pm, Ice Cream Fever (アイスクリームフィーバー) at 5:00 pm, Cha Cha (チャチャ) at 7:15 pm, and Onibaba (鬼婆) at 9:30 pm. The Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival opens on March 14 and runs through March 27 at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler St. (map).

Story Saturday: Sashiko’s Stiches, April 12 at Carnegie Museum of Art.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will feature a reading of Sachiko's Stitches for the April 12 installment of its Story Saturday series.

Join us in the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Decorative Arts and Design galleries for an in-person morning story time with Alyssa Velazquez as she reads Sashiko’s Stitches by Sanae Ishida. Following the reading stick around for a making activity for children 12 and under.

This reading is made possible by Worthy Kids.

About the Book

Sashiko is girl with very big feelings. Sometimes the feelings weigh her down, or make her feel all tangled up inside. But when she learns about sashiko, the traditional Japanese practice that inspired her name, she finds hope and comfort in creative expression.

The storytime runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm and is free with museum admission, but registration is required. The Carneige Museum of Art is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map), accessible by numerous city buses.

Free screening of 1927 Chinese silent film The Cave of the Silken Web (盤絲洞) at Pitt for SCREENSHOT: Silent Asia 2025, April 7.

The University of Pittsburgh's SCREENSHOT: Asia and the Department of Music will present a free screening of 1927 Chinese silent film The Cave of the Silken Web (盤絲洞) for SCREENSHOT: Silent Asia 2025 on April 7. From the Asian Studies Center newsletter:

The film, which was thought lost until a partial copy was rediscovered in Norway, has been translated into English by UBC professor Christopher Rea. The silent film adapts an episode from the Ming dynasty tale The Journey to the West, in which the monk Tripitaka is held prisoner in a cave by magical spider-women, before being rescued by the Monkey King and his companions.

The version of the surviving print  is a restored digital copy that the National Library of Norway shared with the UBC Chinese Film Classics Project, the world’s largest free online collection of early Chinese films with English subtitles.

It will run from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in 125 Frick Fine Arts (map). 

Pittsburgh Opera’s Madama Butterfly Panel Discussion: Women’s Role in Tech, Video Games, Manga, and Comic Books, March 13 in East Liberty.

Photo credit: Philip Groshon, Cincinnati Opera

The Carnegie Library branch in East Liberty will host "Pittsburgh Opera’s Madama Butterfly Panel Discussion: Women’s Role in Tech, Video Games, Manga, and Comic Books" on March 13.

Join us for a free panel discussion with RAD Pass participating organization Pittsburgh Opera where we will explore Women’s Role in Video Games, Anime, Manga, and Comic Books. Women have often been unrealistically represented in these art forms leading to detrimental outcomes in the real world. This discussion aims to unpack the origins of female representation in art and explore the fine line between fandom and fetish.

Pittsburgh Opera leads this discussion in anticipation of its groundbreaking new production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Created by an all-Japanese and Japanese American creative team, the story is set in a fantastical realm where reality and dreams intersect.

“The male protagonist, Pinkerton, puts on a VR headset and transports us into a vibrant virtual reality playground where he has ultimate control. As his avatar, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant, he can seduce and marry Cio-Cio San, his fantasy girl, and abandon her just as easily. But to Cio-Cio San, this is no game and the love and betrayal she feels is all too real.”

Attendees receive a discounted ticket offer to the performance of Madama Butterfly of their choice (March 22nd, 25th, 28th, and 30th) and will be entered into a raffle to receive a pair of free tickets. All performances of Madama Butterfly will take place downtown at the Benedum Center.

The event runs from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at 130 S. Whitfield St. in East Liberty (map).

"The Age of Daredevils: Money Game, Consumers & Literature of the Bubble Economy," March 24 at Carnegie Mellon.

Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics will host Dr. Ikuho Amano and her talk "The Age of Daredevils: Money Game, Consumers & Literature of the Bubble Economy" on March 24.

Join us for a lecture by Ikuho Amano, vice chair of the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures and professor of Japanese at the University of Nebraska, on the cultural impact of Japan's Bubble Economy (1986-1991). This era of rapid economic growth fueled a surge in luxury consumerism, financial speculation and societal shifts that continue to shape Japan today.

Professor Amano will explore how literature from authors like Shimizu Ikkō and Murakami Haruki captured the era's excesses and anxieties, offering insight into its lasting effects. Don't miss this engaging discussion on the intersection of economy, culture and literature in modern Japan.

The talk runs from 4:30 to 6:00 pm in Posner Hall Grand Room (map).

2025 Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 (哪吒之魔童闹海), now the top-grossing animated film of all time, remains in Pittsburgh through (at least) March 19.

The 2025 Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 (哪吒之魔童闹海), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 13, will remain here through at least March 19.

After the catastrophe, although the souls of Nezha and Aobing were saved, their bodies would soon be shattered. Taiyi Zhenren planned to use the seven-colored lotus to rebuild their bodies.

Ne Zha 2 recently became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.

1997 animated film Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) in Pittsburgh from March 26 with 4K IMAX screenings.

The 1997 animated film Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) will play in Pittsburgh from March 26 in a series of 4K IMAX screenings.

While defending his village from a demonic boar-god, young warrior Ashitaka becomes afflicted with a deadly curse that grants him super-human power in battle but eventually will take his life. Traveling west to find a cure and meet his destiny, he journeys deep into sacred depths of the Great Forest where he meets San (aka Princess Mononoke), a girl raised by wolf-gods. Mononoke is a force of nature, riding bareback on a great white wolf and terrorizing the human outpost of Iron Town on the edge of the forest.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront on March 26 and March 28 through April 1, and tickets are available online.

Pitt Japanese Student Association Matsuri, March 23.

The Japanese Student Association at the University of Pittsburgh will present its annual Matsuri on March 23.

JSA’s biggest event of the semester is here! 🤩🤩

Get ready for a night filled with many fun booths of games🕹️ and food 🍡🍣, awesome student-led performances 🎤, and even a special guest performer 🎸🎫!!!

Event Details:
Sunday, March 23rd
4-7:30pm
WPU Assembly Room

Over the next few weeks, keep an eye out for fun reels and post pertaining to Matsuri, and look at our story to see hints for our guest performer!!!! 🤔🤔

🫶We can’t wait to see you there 🫶