Rashomon (羅生門) at Point Park University, November 13.

The Point Park Anime Club and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will present the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon (羅生門) at Point Park University on November 13. A synopsis of the film, from a 2002 Roger Ebert review:

The film opens in torrential rain, and five shots move from long shot to closeup to reveal two men sitting in the shelter of Kyoto's Rashomon Gate. The rain will be a useful device, unmistakably setting apart the present from the past. The two men are a priest and a woodcutter, and when a commoner runs in out of the rain and engages them in conversation, he learns that a samurai has been murdered and his wife raped and a local bandit is suspected. In the course of telling the commoner what they know, the woodcutter and the priest will introduce flashbacks in which the bandit, the wife and the woodcutter say what they saw, or think they saw--and then a medium turns up to channel the ghost of the dead samurai. Although the stories are in radical disagreement, it is unlike any of the original participants are lying for their own advantage, since each claims to be the murderer.

The movie starts at 7:00 pm in the JVH Auditorium in Lawrence Hall (map). For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.

Asian Noodle Bar, coming soon to Oakland since November 2014.

November 6, 2015

The "Asian Noodle Bar" at 3531 Forbes Ave. has been "coming soon" to the old Pittsburgh Pretzel Sandwich Shop location for one year. They did remove the pretzel decals, though.

Golden Dragon Acrobats at Pitt, November 20.

The Golden Dragon Acrobats will perform at the University of Pittsburgh on November 20, part of Pitt's International Week series of events.

The Chinese American Students Association brings the Golden Dragon Acrobats to Bellefield Auditorium for a night of performances. Admission is free for Pitt students (show your Pitt ID) and $10 for non-Pitt students. Students, faculty, and members of the Pittsburgh community alike can all watch amazing contortions, balance acts, and many other impressive feats from this acrobatic troupe from China!

Bellefield Auditorium is located in Bellefield Hall, in turn located on S. Bellefield Ave. in Oakland (map).

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (攻殻機動隊 新劇場版) at Hollywood Theater, from November 10.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show the 2015 movie Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (攻殻機動隊 新劇場版) from November 10. A plot summary, from the official site:

Set in a futuristic Japan after the end of a brutal world war, science has advanced by leaps and bounds giving humanity the choice to prolong life and reduce suffering with the use of sophisticated cybernetics. With all of humanity linked into one system of minds and personalities known as ghosts, the biggest threat to civilization is the cyber terrorists capable of hijacking people’s bodies and memories.

When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source. As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face.

When your target can be anywhere and look like anyone, the only choice you have is to trust your ghost, and hope you aren’t infected too.

The Hollywood Theater is one of several theaters to show the film during its initial limited release in the US on November 10, 11, and 16. The movie was released in Japan on June 20. Showtimes and ticket information is available on the theater's website. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

"Teaching Chinese Characters and Literacy" at Pitt, November 6.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Education will host the second session in its three-part Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Workshop on Friday, November 6. Titled "Teaching Chinese Characters and Literacy", it runs from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in 1500 Posvar Hall (map).

Cemetery of Splendor (รักที่ขอนแก่น), Mountains May Depart (山河故人) at 3 Rivers Film Fest from November 7.

The annual 3 Rivers Film Fest includes two Asian movies in 2015: Thailand's Cemetery of Splendour (รักที่ขอนแก่น) and China's Mountains May Depart (山河故人). A summary of 2015's Cemetery of Splendour, from the 3RFF site:

Soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness are transferred to a temporary clinic in a former school. The memory-filled space becomes a revelatory world for housewife and volunteer Jenjira, as she watches over Itt, a handsome soldier with no family visitors. Jen befriends young medium Keng who uses her psychic powers to help loved ones communicate with the comatose men. Doctors explore ways, including colored light therapy, to ease the men’s troubled dreams. Jen discovers Itt’s cryptic notebook of strange writings and blueprint sketches. There may be a connection between the soldiers’ enigmatic syndrome and the mythic ancient site that lies beneath the clinic. Magic, healing, romance, and dreams are all part of Jen’s tender path to a deeper awareness of herself and the world around her.

And of 2015's Mountains May Depart, from a review in The Guardian:

[The] movie is split into three parts, taking place in 1999, in 2014 and in 2025. We begin with a bunch of people dancing to the Pet Shop Boys’ Go West, and as the new century and millennium dawns, the movie shows China more or less obsessed with doing that: going West, embracing capitalism while at the same retaining the monolithic state structures of the past, and beginning to worship consumer goods as status symbols: stereos, cars, and perhaps most importantly mobile phones — a technology which the film shows retaining its fetishistic power for the next quarter-century.

Cemetery of Splendour (รักที่ขอนแก่น) will play at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland on November 7 at 3:00 pm and November 10 at 8:00 pm. Mountains May Depart (山河故人) will play on November 7 at Waterworks Cinema at 9:00 pm and on November 11 at the Harris Theater at 8:30 pm.

The festival runs from November 6 through November 15 at five theaters around Pittsburgh. Showtimes and ticket information are available at the 3RFF website and at the links in the last paragraph.

CMU Japanese Student Association Culture Month in November, sumo wrestling November 6.

The Carnegie Mellon University Japanese Student Association will host sumo wrestling on November 6, the first event in the JSA's Culture Month.

First we will have a short talk about the history of Sumo in Japan. Then we will have a fun tournament to find CMU's best sumo wrestler. Bring your friends to find the best sumo wrestler in your group!

Join JSA at CMU as we present Culture Month. Each week we will throw at least one event to display the rich and colorful culture of Japan, whether it's through food, performances, or play! Join us as we listen to the powerful taiko, eat hot, delicious okonomiyaki, and watch the delicate Japanese traditional tea ceremony.

The event starts at 4:30 pm in the Connan Room of University Center (campus map).

Bunkasai (文化祭) at Pitt, November 7.

The University of Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Association will host a Bunkasai (文化祭) cultural festival on Saturday, November 7.

Events include performances, games, food, a maid cafe, and more! The festival is expected to last from 2-6 pm. All are welcome!

Bunkasai, says Wikipedia,

is an annual event held by most schools in Japan, from Nursery schools to universities at which their students display their artistic achievements.

The event will take place at the O'Hara Student Center (map) Ballroom from 2:00 pm. More information is available at the event's Facebook page.

Korean Heritage Room dedication ceremony at Pitt, November 15.

Via the Pitt News. For more on the room's development, browse the PennsylAsia archives.

Today's Pitt Chronicle has a lengthy write-up on the Korean Heritage Room in the Cathedral of Learning ahead of the dedication ceremony on November 15.

Speakers at the ceremony will include University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Emeritus Mark A. Nordenberg as well as Ho Young Ahn, South Korea’s ambassador to the United States, and E. Maxine Bruhns, director of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs. In addition, the Korean Heritage Classroom Committee—a group of local Korean-American citizens who oversaw the classroom’s funding efforts—will present a ceremonial key to Nordenberg. The presentation, lead by Sang C. Park, symbolizes the committee gifting the classroom to the University. Park is cochair of the Korean Heritage Classroom committee and a respected pediatric cardiologist. David Kim, an international business leader and committee cochair, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

The festival will feature performances by local Korean-American talent as well as entertainers from abroad. Notable performers will include the Maryland-based Korean Performing Arts Academy of America, the Korean Pittsburgh Women’s Chorus, the Young Brothers Tae Kwon Do Academy, and the internationally acclaimed Korean Children’s Choir from Seoul, South Korea. Authentic Korean food and crafts will be available, and Pitt’s Quo Vadis Guides—Nationality Room student tour guides with extensive knowledge of each room—will lead tours of the Korean Heritage Classroom.

. . .

The Korean Heritage Classroom’s design was inspired by the “Myeongnyundang”—the Hall of Enlightenment that was the main lecture hall of South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University. Founded in 1398, Sungkyunkwan served as Korea’s “royal academy” and was the region’s foremost institution of higher education for nearly two centuries. The university still operates today (with modernized facilities), and the lecture hall continues to be used for special ceremonial events. It is recognized throughout Asia as a prominent historical monument.

Like the Hall of Enlightenment, the Korean Heritage Classroom depicts three connected rooms. The center room is longer with a lofty ceiling. Sungkyunkwan officials used the center room for ceremonies, lectures, rituals, and other important public events. The two smaller adjoining rooms were used for faculty research and private meetings.

As the article says, the day's events begin with a dedication ceremony in Heinz Chapel at 2:30, followed by a Korean cultural festival in the Commons Room (first floor of the Cathedral of Learning) at 3:30 and accompanied by tours of the room all day on the 15th. The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story building located at 4200 Fifth Ave. (map) in Oakland.

Combined JASP Japanese Language Exchange and Japanese-English Reading Circle group meeting, November 7 in Shadyside.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host a combined meeting of its Japanese Language Exchange and Japanese-English Reading Circle groups on Saturday, November 7, in Shadyside.

If you want to improve your Japanese language skills AND reading skills in the same area, you are most welcome to join us. This is a great chance to meet with Japanese residents of Pittsburgh and talk/read with your peers so that everyone can learn something new. Refreshments will be provided, as well as reading materials at every level will be provided

The event runs from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Like the other Japanese Language Exchange meetings with the JASP, it will be held in Kenmawr Apartments, located at 401 Shady Ave. (map). It runs from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the Community Room and is free and open to the public.