Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) playing in the Pittsburgh area, December 4 and 5.

The 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) will play in select theaters as part of its 15th anniversary, and it will appear in several places in western Pennsylvania on December 4 and 5.

"Japan, Ink: Global Flows of 'Deviant' Body Modification" at Pitt, November 28.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host John Skutlin, a Pitt graduate and a PhD candidate at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his talk "Japan, Ink: Global Flows of 'Deviant' Body Modification", on November 28.

Japan boasts a rich history of tattooing that flourished most visibly in the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), when generations of horishi tattoo artists hand-carved intricate full-body tattoos of magnificent dragons, intrepid carp, and courageous heroes upon the flesh of the country’s working classes. In spite of this time-honored tradition, having a tattoo in Japan can prevent one from entering onsen (hot springs), public baths, pools, beaches, and gyms, and can even hinder employment and marriage prospects. Also, tattoo artists are technically punishable under Japanese law for “practicing medicine without a license.” Tattoos have earned increasing acceptance in the U.S. and Europe, with some polls estimating that 1 in 5 American adults have been inked, and similar numbers showing up in the U.K. Why then, in the face of the globalization of tattoo culture, has the stigma against tattooing persisted in Japan, and where did it originate? With increasing numbers of young people in Japan choosing to go under the needle as a fashion statement, how do they cope with the stigma and negotiate the meanings of their body modifications? As the Tokyo 2020 Olympics approach, the subject of tattooing is increasingly coming into Japan’s public spotlight. This talk uses the example of tattooing and other forms of body modification to examine the ways in which systems of “body power” – cultural, social, and institutional frameworks of control over the body – in Japan are both reinforced and challenged by global flows of “deviant decorative body modification,” such as tattooing, piercing, and cosmetic surgery.

John M. Skutlin is an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh's East Asian Languages & Literatures department and a current PhD candidate in Japanese Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Having previously researched and written about goth subculture in Japan, his ongoing research project focuses on global flows of body modification in Japan from a cultural anthropological perspective.

The talk will be held from 4:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Steelers의 김장.

Saveur magazine visits Korea in its profile of various sauces, and makes reference to "the Pittsburgh of Korea" and its professional soccer team, the Pohang Steelers. The team adopted the name in 1997, and the city---a hub of industry and steel---has been called the "Pittsburgh of Korea" for decades. The Steelers' website published photos on the 21st of the team participating in a local gimjang (김장), the annual late-autumnal preparation of kimchi.

“Innovative Online and EFL Education Examples from China and Colombia” symposium lecture at Pitt, December 7.

The Institute for International Studies in Education at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education will present “Innovative Online and EFL Education Examples from China and Colombia” as the next installment of its Fall 2016 symposium series. The three presentations by visiting scholars in the IISE are:

* “Designing MOOCs in a Chinese Social Network Environment” by IISE Visiting Scholar, Dr. Xiufang Ma
* “A Reverse Mentoring Program in Elementary Levels during the Practicum in Monteria, Colombia” by IISE Visiting Scholar, Luis Mario Viaña Patrón
* “A Study on Cultivating Pragmatic Competence of Chinese EFL Learners” by IISE Visiting Scholar, Xiaoyan Xu

The symposium runs from 12:00 to 1:30 pm in 5604 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

1993 Studio Ghibli film Ocean Waves (海がきこえる) in Pittsburgh, and the US, for the first time in January

The 1993 Studio Ghibli film Ocean Waves (海がきこえる) will play at the Row House Cinema from January 20 through 26, 2017, as part of the theater's Young Love series. The distributor provides a summary:

Rarely seen outside of Japan, Ocean Waves is a subtle, poignant and wonderfully detailed story of adolescence and teenage isolation. Taku and his best friend Yutaka are headed back to school for what looks like another uneventful year. But they soon find their friendship tested by the arrival of Rikako, a beautiful new transfer student from Tokyo whose attitude vacillates wildly from flirty and flippant to melancholic. When Taku joins Rikako on a trip to Tokyo, the school erupts with rumors, and the three friends are forced to come to terms with their changing relationships.

Ocean Waves was the first Studio Ghibli film directed by someone other than studio founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, as director Tomomi Mochizuki led a talented staff of younger employees in an adaptation of Saeko Himuro’s best-selling novel. Full of shots bathed in a palette of pleasingly soft pastel colors and rich in the unexpected visual details typical of Studio Ghibli’s most revered works, Ocean Waves is an accomplished teenage drama and a true discovery.

Ticket information and showtimes have not yet been announced. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Banh Mi & Ti now open in Lawrenceville.

via Banh Mi & Ti Facebook page.

The newest Vietnamese sandwich shop, Banh Mi & Ti, soft opened on November 16. It's located at 4502 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map), in what was formerly Jack + Jules.

Documentary The Eagle Huntress in Pittsburgh, from November 25.

The Eagle Huntress, the 2016 documentary about a 13-year-old girl training to be an eagle hunter in Mongolia, will play at the Harris Theater from November 25 through December 8.

Ikebana with CMU's Japanese Student Association, November 18.

Carnegie Mellon University's Japanese Student Association will host an ikebana session on Friday, November 18 as part of the JSA's Culture Month.

For our last event in JSA's Culture Month, we will showcase Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arrangement, in Doherty Hall 2302. More than just putting flowers in a pot, this art is a disciplined, intricate practice that translates the beauty one might see on a painting to real life. You will also be making your very own display to keep! If you are taking a Japanese course in CMU, then extra credit will be given for attendance!

Ikebana (生け花) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, and a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, and form. Though ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.

The event runs from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in Doherty Hall 2032 (map).

North Korean Film Festival at Pitt, November 18 and 19.

Program of events for Friday, November 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host a North Korean Film Festival on November 18 and 19. On Friday the 18th, the films An Emissary Unreturned and Bulgasari will play in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium (map) at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm, respectively. On Friday the 19, Flower Girl will play at 2:00 and Fate of Kum Hui and Un Hui will play in Auditorium A of the University Club (map).

An Emissary Unreturned and Pulgasari will comprise a Shin Song-ok and North Korean Cinema program with Princeton University's Steven Chung on Friday the 18th, while Flower Girl and Fate of Kum Hui and Un Hui will comprise a North Korean Cinema and China in the Cultural Revolution Era program.

Singaporean film Apprentice (徒刑) in Pittsburgh, November 19.

The the 2016 Singaporean film Apprentice(徒刑) will play on at the Regent Square Theater on November 19 as part of this year's Three Rivers Film Festival.