Art of Origami: Holiday Edition, downtown, December 20.

"Little Christmas Wreath", by Jeannie Fletcher.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Downtown & Business branch will host "Art of Origami: Holiday Edition" on December 20.

Just in time for the holidays! Join us for an interactive workshop on the art of Origami.

Origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding where flat sheets of paper are transformed into simple or elaborate sculptures and arrangements.

Bring in your holiday gift wrap paper for neat holiday themed sculptures!

The event is free, and runs from 2:30 to 3:30 pm at 612 Smithfield St. (map).

Seoul National University of Science and Technology president receives Distinguished Alumnus Award from Pitt.

Seoul National University of Science and Technology president Keun Namkoong (근남궁) received a Distinguished Alumnus Award on December 12 from John Keeler, Dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of International and Public Affairs. The GSPIA website has a profile on Namkoong, who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語) and From Up on Poppy Hill (コクリコ坂から) at Row House Cinema from tomorrow through December 18.

Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville will present the GKIDS Animation Festival from December 12 through 18, including two animated films from Japan and Studio Ghibli: 2013's The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語) in its Pittsburgh debut and 2011's From Up On Poppy Hill (コクリコ坂から). The movies will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles.

A.V. Club provides a summary of The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語):

A humble bamboo cutter named Okina (translation: “old man”) happens upon a glowing stalk in the grove near his house. When he investigates, the shimmering tree blossoms reveal a baby nested inside. Believing this discovery to be a gift from the heavens, Okina brings her home to his wife Ouna (“old woman”), with whom he begins to raise the child as their own. Dubbing her “Princess” Kaguya, Ouna and Okina marvel at how rapidly the girl begins to grow, racing from infancy to pre-adolescence in a matter of days.

While Kaguya busies herself with a normal childhood, making friends with the local kids and bonding with an older boy named Sutemaru, her adopted father becomes distracted by Kaguya’s value to him—the bamboo shoot from which she was born begins producing gold. As Kaguya transforms into a teenager, Okina relocates their family to the capital city, where the girl receives lessons on how to be a proper woman, and is celebrated as a rare beauty. When five aggressive suitors come calling—followed by the emperor himself—Kaguya begins to feel trapped, things falling apart as she imagines a different life for herself.

It goes on to say the film has "some of the most beautifully expressive animation that Ghibli (or anyone else) has ever produced".

Wikipedia provides a brief summary of the latter:

Set in 1963 Yokohama, Japan, the film tells the story of Umi Matsuzaki, a high school girl living in a boarding house, Coquelicot Manor. When Umi meets Shun Kazama, a member of the school's newspaper club, they decide to clean up the school's clubhouse, Quartier Latin. However, Tokumaru, the chairman of the local high school and a businessman, intends to demolish the building for redevelopment and Umi and Shun, along with Shirō Mizunuma, must persuade him to reconsider.

And the Pittsburgh City-Paper adds, in a review of the film when it was last here in 2013:

The film's small story is set against a larger cultural one, as Japan transitions from the sorrows and hardships of the last generation's wars to being a modern world power. Nearly every scene contains visual cues that show Japan's mish-mash of old and new, while the story illustrates this new generation, caught between the nostalgic pull of the past and the responsibility of leading this new Japan.

Showtimes are available at the theater's website. The theater is located at 4115 Butler St. (map).

Pitt Chronicle on Chinese Nationality Room in Cathedral of Learning.

The Chinese Nationality Room in 1939; via Historic Pittsburgh.

The December 8 issue of the Pitt Chronicle profiles the Chinese Nationality Room, which turns 75 years old this year.

A group of Pitt students from China petitioned the Chinese government in 1920 for a donation to begin fundraising for the room’s development. The Chinese government pledged $5,000 in gold, but the eruption of The Chinese Civil War in China in 1927 put that donation on hold. Not to be dissuaded, the committee of students and Pittsburgh business owners canvassed neighborhoods of Chinese residents up and down the East Coast to solicit donations, eventually raising the initial $5,000 deposit.

Following 15 years of fundraising, the Chinese government in 1935 forwarded its contribution to Pittsburgh, and the room was dedicated four years later. It cost the equivalent of about $250,000 in today’s dollars, and is one of 29 Nationality and Heritage Rooms housed in the Cathedral of Learning. Each represents a different nation or heritage, all of which played a part in the historical development of this region.

A good bit of the history of the China Memorial Room---as it was then called---and its design is available in the October 6, 1939 Dedication Ceremony program, preserved in full by Documenting Pitt. Introducing several pages on the design and decor, the program writes "The design and decoration of this Room attempt to express something of China's 4,000 years of culture and wisdom." It concludes:

The China Memorial Room has been designed, decorated, and furnished with the hope that it will give the people of Chinese descent in Pittsburgh a just reason for pride in their ancestral heritage. At the same time the Committee believes that the Room will command the respect and admiration of all other people in America.

Taikoza to perform at Clarion University Venango College, Penn State Dubois and Fayette campuses, Spring 2015.

The touring Japanese drumming ensemble Taikoza will make several stops in Pennsylvania in 2015: Oil City, Dubois, and Uniontown on this half of the state. From Taikoza's self-introduction:

Taikoza uses the powerful rhythms of the Taiko drums to create an electrifying energy that carries audiences in a new dimension of excitement. The Taiko is a large, barrel-like drum that can fill the air with the sounds of rolling thunder. Roughly translated, Taiko means big drums-and that’s exactly what Taikoza brings. Big Drums, powerful rhythms, and electrifying, room-thumping energy. This exciting group draws from Japan’s rich tradition of music and performance to create a highly visual performance. Drawing from Japan's rich tradition of music and performance, Taikoza has created a new sound using a variety of traditional instruments. In addition to drums of assorted sizes, Taikoza incorporates the shakuhachi, the fue (both bamboo flutes) and the Koto (a 13 string instrument).

The Penn State Dubois show is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, and the Clarion University Venango College show for April 3. Both towns are roughly two hours northwest of Pittsburgh. The Penn State Fayette campus show, in Uniontown, is scheduled for April 7 at 11 am.

Pitt-Bradford has had "very positive" experience with Confucius Institute.

One of the University of Pittsburgh's branch campuses reaffirmed its satisfaction with the Confucius Institute on Friday after the PRC-sponsored language and culture academies were again the subject of scrutiny and criticism by American lawmakers and academics.

Pitt-Bradford President Livingston Alexander issued a statement to The Era Friday, relating that several years ago, the university worked with an agency in the Chinese government to first establish a Confucius Institute program on the Pittsburgh campus and then facilitate the creation of additional programs on other campuses, including the one in Bradford.

“We were invited to establish an Institute at Pitt-Bradford and enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to familiarize our students and the local community with Chinese language and culture,” Alexander said. “We’ve operated our program for three years and both students and faculty find the Institute beneficial and instructive.

“Each of the Chinese instructors assigned to our campus have been knowledgeable, warm and engaging. Our friends in the community who participate in activities sponsored by the Institute instructors speak very favorably about their experience,” Alexander added. “I’m certainly mindful of the criticisms made about the Confucius Institute programs; however, our experience with the Institute thus far has been very positive.”

The University of Pittsburgh's Confucius Institute was named one of the 2013 Confucius Institutes of the Year last December.

NAAAP Pgh End of the Year Party, December 11.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals [NAAAP] will hold its End of the Year Party on Thursday, December 11, in Market Square.

Join NAAAP PGH for our last event of the year! We will be meeting at NoLa on the Square in Market Square at 7:00pm for dinner, and then ice skating at the rink at PPG Place (see prices for skate rental and admission to the rink below. Super affordable). We hope that you have been able to make it to some of our past events this year. We had a blast hosting them, and we look forward to an even more exciting and eventful 2015!

The event begins at 7:00 pm.

Korean film Oldboy (올드보이) coming to Row House Cinema, December 26 - January 1.

Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville will show the 2003 Korean film Oldboy (올드보이) from December 26 through January 1. 올드보이, the 21st-century classic not to be confused with the 2013 Spike Lee remake, is summarized in a 2005 Roger Ebert review:

A man gets violently drunk and is chained to the wall in a police station. His friend comes and bails him out. While the friend is making a telephone call, the man disappears from an empty city street in the middle of the night. The man regains consciousness in what looks like a shabby hotel room. A bed, a desk, a TV, a bathroom cubicle. There is a steel door with a slot near the floor for his food tray. Occasionally a little tune plays, the room fills with gas, and when he regains consciousness the room has been cleaned, his clothes have been changed, and he has received a haircut.

This routine continues for 15 years. He is never told who has imprisoned him, or why. He watches TV until it becomes his world. He fills one journal after another with his writings. He pounds the wall until his fists grow bloody, and then hardened. He screams. He learns from TV that his blood and fingerprints were found at the scene of his wife's murder. That their daughter has been adopted in Sweden. That if he were to escape, he would be a wanted man.

. . .

When he suddenly finds himself freed from his bizarre captivity 15 years later, he is a different person, focused on revenge, ridiculously responsive to kindness. Wandering into a restaurant, he meets a young woman who, he knows from the TV, is Korea's "Chef of the Year." This is Mido. Sensing that he has suffered, feeling an instinctive sympathy, she takes him home with her, hears his story, cares for him, comes to love him. Meanwhile, he sets out on a methodical search to find the secret of his captivity. He was fed pot stickers, day after day, until their taste is burned into his memory, and he travels the city's restaurants until he finds the one that supplied his meals. That is the key to tracking down his captors.

Showtimes are available online. The theater is located at 4115 Butler St. (map).

Devils on the Doorstep (鬼子来了) at Row House Cinema, December 5 - 11.

The 2000 Chinese movie Devils on the Doorstep (鬼子来了) will play at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville (map) from December 5 through 11 as part of the WWII International Reflections series. The theater summarizes the film:

A Chinese villager is forced to take two Japanese Army prisoners into custody. This black comedy won of the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2000.

The movie played at the Three Rivers Film Festival in 2002. Showtimes for it and the other four films in the series are available on the theater's website.

Colloquium "The Everyday without Depth: Hong Sang-soo and a Cinema of Paradox" at Pitt, December 5.

The Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh will present a colloquium with Seung-Hwan Shin, "The Everyday without Depth: Hong Sang-soo and a Cinema of Paradox", on December 5. The abstract:

Hong's arrival in the mid-1990s marks a new phase in the development of Korean cinema in the post-democratization era. He responded to the post-epic condition by rediscovering everyday life (its contingency and disjontedness) via a minimalist gaze. Yet instead of putting his films under such blanket terms as postmodernism or deconstruction, I read them as hinging upon the urge to scrutinize and embrace life without "good sense". Notably, his cinema is marked by the lack of center and depth to build our perception on it; depth gives way to service where events prove to be governed by paradoxes instead of good senses that oblige us to pick one direction over the other. We thus recurrently witness in his films such motifs as drifting, idling, waiting, drinking, chatting, doubting, hesitating, wavering, forgetting, etc. Notable in this regard is Hong's peculiar sense of humor, which I attributed to his effort to make sense of life without good sense, viz., the everyday that continues without an ultimate solution to its paradoxes. It is also intriguing to note how his minimalism shows a viable way of independent cinema between maximalism (e.g., big-budget films) and protectionism (e.g., publicly funded films).

Dr. Shin is a part-time instructor of Korean and East Asian Cinema, and earned his Ph.D. from Pitt in April. The talk will take place in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map) from 12:00 pm.