University Gamelan 20th Anniversary Concert, April 13 and 14 at Pitt.

Poster for the 1998 Gamelan Ensemble concert.

The University of Pittsburgh's Gamelan Ensemble, which "plays the gamelan music of the Sundanese people" of Indonesia, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with concerts on April 13 and 14. "Gamelan," explains the Department of Music,

refers to a set of predominantly percussion instruments including tuned gongs, metal-keyed instruments, and drums (as well as bowed lute and voice). Gamelan music is played as accompaniment to dance, drama, puppet theater, and martial arts, as well as for concerts of listening music. Gamelan is performed in conjunction with special occasions and to mark important life-cycle event.

Chinese animated film Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠) in Pittsburgh, April 11 and 12.

The 2016 Chinese animated film Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠) is getting a limited release in the US, and will play in Pittsburgh on April 11 and 12. A glowing Variety review summarizes:

In the history of Chinese animation, there has never been a film like “Big Fish & Begonia.” Certainly, precedents exist in American and Japanese cartoons (at its core, the film could be a cross between Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and Studio Ghibli’s “Spirited Away”), but as far as the Chinese industry goes, this bold and breathtaking fantasy adventure stands alone.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Chinese-speaking graphic designer (设计师).

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced an opening for a Chinese-speaking graphic designer (设计师):

Cool Japan: Animation In Japan With Charles Dunbar, April 5 at Pitt.

The Pitt Anime Club will host "Cool Japan: Animation In Japan With Charles Dunbar" tonight, April 5, at the University of Pittsburgh.

Charles Dunbar is an anthropologist. He studies a lot of things, be it fandom, anime culture, the supernatural or mysterious men in blue boxes. He received his MA in Sociocultural Anthropology in 2011, after utilizing ancient Mayan techniques to hypnotize his department into believing that he was, in fact, the reincarnation of Victor Turner. His thesis, entitled “Pilgrimage, Pageantry and Fan Communities," was published soon after, and focused on anime convention participation, including stereotyping, spending habits, cosplay and con culture.

The event is sponsored by the Asian Studies Center and the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society. It starts at 9:00 pm in room 358 of the Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

Matsuri 2018, April 10 at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Carnegie Mellon University Japanese Student Association will present its 8th annual Matsuri, "a celebration of Japanese culture and diversity," on April 10.

Enjoy a variety of foods from our food booths, and performances by student groups and members of the Pittsburgh community, while immersed in traditional Japanese decorations and festival games! Matsuri is the biggest event hosted by JSA. Last year, more than 600 people showed up to the celebration.

All proceeds will again be donated to Minato Junior High school in Ishinomaki, which was physically destroyed in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The event runs from 3:30 to 8:00 pm in Wiegand Gym of the Cohon University Center (map), and is free and open to the public.

2017 Chinese animated film Have a Nice Day (大世界) in Pittsburgh, April 6 - 19.

The 2017 Chinese animated film Have a Nice Day (大世界) will play in Pittsburgh from April 6 through April 19. The distributor offers a summary:

A hard rain is about to fall on a small town in Southern China.

In a desperate attempt to find money to save his fiancée’s failed plastic surgery, Xiao Zhang, a mere driver, steals a bag containing 1 million from his boss.

News of the robbery spreads fast within the town and, over the course of one night, everyone starts looking for Xiao Zhang and his money…

Liu Jian delivers a whirlwind neo-noir, cementing his place as a pioneering force in independent Chinese animation.

Fujiya Ramen coming to Pittsburgh, replacing Tan Izakaya.

via @fujiyaramen16.

Fujiya Ramen, with two locations in New York and New Jersey, is coming to Pittsburgh to replace Tan Izakaya. According to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on March 28, Tan Izakaya——which opened August 2016——would close at the end of March, with the ramen place taking its spot at 815 S. Aiken Ave. (map).

Author+illustrator MariNaomi at Pitt, April 7.

Author and illustrator MariNaomi will speak at the University of Pittsburgh on April 7.

MariNaomi is the award-winning author and illustrator of Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011), Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016), I Thought YOU Hated ME (Retrofit Comics, 2016), and the Life on Earth trilogy (Graphic Universe, 2018-2020). Her work has appeared in over sixty print publications and has been featured on websites such as The Rumpus, LA Review of Books, Midnight Breakfast and BuzzFeed.

MariNaomi's comics and paintings have been featured by such institutions as the Smithsonian, the De Young Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Asian Art Museum, and the Japanese American Museum.

The event starts at 7:00 pm in the William Pitt Union's Lower Lounge (map) and is free and open to the public.

2003 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) at Pitt for Spectacles Film Series, April 8.

The final installment of the University of Pittsburgh's Spectacles Film Series is the 2003 Studio Ghibli Film Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) on April 8. Once a month, the Film Studies Program website explains,

Spectacles invites religious studies, cultural studies, and film studies enthusiasts to join together and watch a movie with religious themes. Afterwards, religious studies majors will lead an open discussion about the movie. And of course, there will be movie snacks!

Border Passages with Viet Thanh Nguyen, April 9 at City of Asylum.

Via Nguyen's Facebook page.

The City of Asylum will host Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen for a reading on April 9, ahead of his sold-out lecture that evening.

Join us for a reading with Viet Thanh Nguyen presented in partnership with Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures and the Carnegie Nexus: Becoming Migrant series.

“A major writer with firsthand knowledge of the human rights drama exploding on the international stage—and the talent to give us inroads toward understanding it.”—THE WASHINGTON POST

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen can’t remember a time when he wasn’t a refugee. When he was four, in 1975, his family joined the masses of South Vietnamese fleeing the Viet Cong. His first reliable memories began when his family arrived at a Pennsylvania resettlement camp and was temporarily split up.

Join Nguyen, author of The Refugees and The Sympathizer, Divya Heffley of Carnegie Museum of Art, and Patrick McShea of Carnegie Museum of Natural History for a live reading and discussion, followed by a hands-on workshop that layers passages of text with memories of what we perceive to be home.