"Sounds from the East: Composers in Japanese Musical Modernity" at Pitt, April 20.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Bonnie Wade of UC Berkeley and her talk "Sounds from the East: Composers in Japanese Musical Modernity" on April 20. An Asian Studies Center newsletter provides a synopsis:

Who "the creator of new music" is in Japanese culture changed from the pre-modern performer-composer of traditional musical contexts when the mid-19th century government of the emerging nation-state decided to absorb and normalize music from Europe and America as a technology in a massive modernization process. In this talk, Dr. Bonnie Wade will elucidate how the separation of the functions of performing and composing in the creation of new music was a response to the emergent conditions of Japanese musical modernity and situate composers as creative individuals who by exercising considerable artistic flexibility in their creative production remain "close to the people" while also participating in the shared
international cultural space of Western music.

Wade is the author of a 2013 book Composing Japanese Musical Modernity. The talk begins at 4:00 pm in 4217 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

1989 China/Avant-Garde Exhibition at Pitt through October 31.

Wang Youshen, Newspaper-Advertising, 1993

Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh will is hosting an 1989 China/Avant-Garde Exhibition – from Gao Minglu Archive through October 31.

Dr. Minglu Gao is a research professor in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture (HAA) at Pitt, and a leading scholar of Chinese contemporary art. Over three decades Dr. Gao has been building a collection of Chinese contemporary art unique in the world today. These unique primary materials include manuscripts, posters, paintings, and exhibit catalogs, as well as slides, videos, recordings, etc.

Since 2014, the University Library System has been working the HAA department, Asian Studies Center, and University Center for International Studies to create a digital archive of Dr. Gao's collection. This exhibit will showcase many of the items in Dr. Gao's collection, and present an unparalleled look into the world of Chinese contemporary art.

The Spring 2006 issue of Pitt Magazine has one of many lengthy profiles on Gao. Hillman Library is located at 3960 Forbes Ave. (map) in Oakland.

Ramen, robata restaurant coming to downtown Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Business Times writes about restauranteur Teejay Li and his plans to bring Yuzu Kitchen to 409 Wood Street downtown:

[Yuzu Kitchen is] a restaurant focused on a menu of ramen dishes and robata grill items.

It’s a mix expected to also include tapas-style appetizers and a full bar that Li is optimistic will offer a cuisine available nowhere else in central business district.

“I do believe there’s a big need for this kind of restaurant downtown,” said Li. “There’s no competition for my concept."

Against a popular perception of it consisting of cheap instant noodles often eaten by college students, Ramen noodle dishes have become a hot food trend elsewhere based on ingredients focused on a rich broth base and a range of toppings that include pork belly, poached eggs, scallions and a host of others.

. . .

Li added he expects the robata grill component, a traditional cooking method in which meats are served on skewers, to have strong appeal with downtown residents living in high-rise buildings that don’t have the opportunity to grill. With the restaurant’s central location, he also sees potential for Yuzu Kitchen to be a destination draw for the city’s growing Asian population who can access downtown on public transportation for a cuisine hard to find elsewhere.

He is shooting to get his full approvals and renovate the property for use as a two-level restaurant and open in September. If all goes as planned, he hopes to expand it elsewhere as well.

Japanese rock group ONE OK ROCK at Mr. Smalls, April 16.

The Japanese rock group ONE OK ROCK will play at Mr. Smalls on April 16 as part of the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour.

"Imperial-Time-Order: The 'People' and the 'Empire' in Historical Plays in Mao's China", April 15 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will hold another "Talking About Asia" event on April 15, with Kun Qian and her "Imperial-Time-Order: The 'People' and the 'Empire' in Historical Plays in Mao's China" talk.

"American Chinese Medicine: Orientalized Biopower" at Pitt, April 13.

The Chinese-language University of Pittsburgh Facebook page 匹茲堡大學 shares news of a "American Chinese Medicine: Orientalized Biopower" talk on Wednesday, April 13. The Department of Religious Studies is presenting the event, and summarizes:

This talk is based on an ethnographic study of Chinese medicine in the United States. Informed by interviews with key practitioners and fieldwork at educational institutions, it demonstrates how Caucasians shape the way Chinese medicine is practiced, viewed, and sanctioned in the United States, often marginalizing those who brought the medicine to the this country.

Tyler Phan is completing a dissertation on "American Chinese Medicine." He has an M.A. in Religions (SOAS), M.Ac. in Acupuncture (Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine), and B.A. in Religious Studies (University of Pittsburgh).

The talk begins at 12:00 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

Japanese cat cafe culture in Pitt Magazine.

The latest Pitt Magazine, a publication of the University of Pittsburgh, profiles PhD student Amanda Robinson and her study of Japanese cat cafes.

Talking About Asia: Charles Exley and "Sato Haruo and Modern Japanese Literature" at Pitt, April 13.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the next "Talking About Asia" installment on Wednesday, April 13, which will feature Dr. Charles Exley on the topic of "Sato Haruo and Modern Japanese Literature".

More looks at Korea's first Bruster's.

The Naver blog 무나문 has a lot of pictures of the first Bruster's Ice Cream in Korea, which opened in Cheonan on March 31.

2016 Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회), May 7 in Shadyside.

Last week we broke news of the 2016 Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회), coming to the Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside (map) on May 7. Today we have flyers!