Pittsburgh Taiko Beginner Session, October 15.

Pittsburgh Taiko will hold a beginner session in Shadyside on October 15 to introduce learners to traditional Japanese percussion (taiko / 太鼓).

Over the course of the workshop, you will learn basic movements and techniques used to play taiko.

Drumsticks will be provided, as will earplugs (although you’re welcome to bring your own if you have some).

The session runs from 3:00 to 5:30 pm at Winchester Thurston City Campus Lower School on Morewood Ave. in Shadyside (map). More information about the session, as well as some tips for Saturday---don't wear street shoes, for example---are available at the Pittsburgh Taiko website. Registration can be done on the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania website; the cost is $5 for JASP members, $10 for students, and $15 for everyone else. You can see and hear Pittsburgh Taiko on YouTube.

Takao Kawaguchi: About Kazuo Ohno at Warhol Museum, October 13.

Dancer Takao Kawaguchi will perform About Kazuo Ohno at the Warhol Museum on October 13. The Japan Society offers a description of the performance and Kawaguchi's seven-city tour this fall:

Takao Kawaguchi, one of Japan’s most sought-after dancers and former member of Dumb Type, challenged himself to literally "copy" the dances of the late butoh master and co-founder Kazuo Ohno, from archival recordings. What results is a hauntingly beautiful illusory duet between Kawaguchi and Ohno. Presented just weeks before what would have been Ohno’s 110th birthday, About Kazuo Ohno attempts to reconstruct Ohno’s timeless masterpieces, including Admiring La Argentina (1977) and My Mother (1981), phrase by phrase. This work offers the opportunity to explore and question the portrayal of gender, specifically femininity, that appears within Ohno’s repertoire.

Pittsburgh is the last stop on the US tour that included performances in New York and Los Angeles. The Warhol is located at 117 Sandusky St. on the Northside (map). Tickets are $12 for students and $15 for the general public, and are available online.

Paprika and Japanese Culture Society, October 14 at Row House Cinema.

The Anime Film Series opens at Lawrenceville's Row House Cinema on October 14, and the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society will be there during the initial screening of Paprika (パプリカ).

The Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society will be hanging out at Row House this Friday, 10/14. Take the opportunity to chat with them about their organization, volunteer opportunities, and upcoming events (especially the 2017 Tekko convention)!

Showtimes and ticket information for all five films on all seven days is available on the theater's website. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Baozi and Books at Pitt, October 12.

Baozi, by Evgeni Zotov (Creative Commons)

The University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center will host Baozi and Books on Wednesday afternoon, October 12. From the Asian Studies Center newsletter:

Please join us for free books and Chinese baozi (steamed buns)! Through the generous donations from the Vietnamese Student Association and our center associate Dr. Katy Carlitz, we have acquired some fascinating books in Chinese, Japanese, and English that we'd like to share. Please drop by on Wednesday, October 12 between 3:45-4:30 in 4217 Posvar Hall to browse our collection and take home a few books. We also have a limited number of tickets for the Pittsburgh premier of the Taiwanese film 52Hz I Love You available.

2016 Autumn CLTA-WPA & Foreign Language Teaching Symposium 西賓州中文教師學會 (西宾州中文教师学会) 2016 秋季研討會 (2016 秋季研讨会), October 16 at CMU.

The Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania (西賓州中文教師學會 / 西宾州中文教师学会) will host its annual Autumn Foreign Language Teaching Symposium at Carnegie Mellon University on October 16. The agenda of the all-day event is posted online, and reposted above.

Anime Film Series at Row House Cinema, October 14 - 20.

The Row House Cinema will present five Japanese animated movies as part of its Anime Film Series that runs from October 14 - 20: 1973's Belladonna of Sadness (哀しみのベラドンナ), Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉), Millennium Actress (千年女優), Studio Ghibli's 1988 Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓), and Paprika (パプリカ). The film share common themes beyond the country of origin and style of production, though, according to the theater's website:

Japanese animation breaks many traditional notions of what animated films "should" be in in terms of style, genre, and audience—maybe that's why we love it so much. This week we're featuring anime movies geared towards an adult audience with some heavy subject matter, including rape, war, viral terrorism, and mind control.

Showtimes and ticket information is available on the theater's website. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Pennsylvasia.com

I finally purchased a custom domain name, which means you are likely reading this at www.pennsylvasia.com. I've also replaced the old header that took six minutes to make with an online seal generator with one that took four minutes in Microsoft Paint. Please update your bookmarks and Favorites to pennsylvasia.com, though the pennsylvasia.blogspot.com site will still work. (And please also take a moment to pauseyour adblock software on the new domain.)

Seven Samurai (七人の侍), Bento Boxes, and Tea Tasting, November 9 at Row House Cinema.

The Row House Cinema will host Stephanie Tsong for a Japanese tea tasting to accompany bento boxes and the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film Seven Samurai (七人の侍). The evening begins at 6:30 pm and tickets are currently available online. Tickets for the first go-round on July 21 sold out in about a week. Additional information is available via the event's Faceobook page.

Free advanced Korean class at Carnegie Library Oakland, through December 17.

The Carnegie Library of Oakland recently added an advanced-level Korean class to its offerings, and the next meeting will be Saturday, October 15.

Advanced Korean is geared toward those who already have a strong grasp of Korean language and have completed Korean II. This group meets every Saturday, except the 2nd Saturday of each month, from September 24 through December 17th in the Third Floor Conference Room.

The library also has Korean For Beginners on Saturdays at 1:00 pm and Korean II on Saturdays at 11:00 am, both 90 minutes long and both in the Large Print Room. The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave (map). and is accessible by all the city buses that run to Oakland, including the 61 series, 67, 69, 71 series, and 75.

Documentary on early Cambodian rock music, Don't Think I've Forgotten, back in Pittsburgh, October 13 and 18.

The Eco-Soap Bank will present two screenings of Don't Think I've Forgotten, a documentary on early Cambodian rock music, on October 13 and 18.