Poet Li-young Lee at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, April 26.

Via World Literature Today.

Asian-American poet Li-young Lee, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, will speak at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall on April 26. An introduction, from Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures:

Celebrated poet Li-Young Lee returns with a breathtaking new volume about the violence of desire and the peace of love.

The Undressing is a tonic for spiritual anemia; it attempts to uncover things hidden since the dawn of the world. These mysterious, unassuming poems investigate the human violence and dispossession increasingly prevalent around the world, as well as the horrors of growing up as a child of refugees. Lee draws from disparate sources, including the Old Testament, the Dao De Jing, and the music of the Wu Tang Clan. While the subjects of these layered, impassioned poems are wide-ranging, their driving engine is a burning need to understand our collective human mission. Read the title poem from The Undressing online.

Author Min Jin Lee to return to Pittsburgh in April 2019.

via minjinlee.com

The Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Series announced its 2018-2019 Ten Evenings lineup last night, and bestselling Korean-American author Min Jin Lee is scheduled to speak at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland on April 1. Lee read from her book Pachinko at the City of Asylum in February.

PACHINKO follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan.

So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.

Single tickets for the April 1, 2019 talk will go on sale July 5.

Children's Day (こどもの日) at Carnegie Museum of Art, May 5.

"Children's Day Japan" (Creative Commons).

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host a Children's Day (こどもの日,kodomo-no hi celebration on Saturday, May 5 at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Celebrate the children in your life by attending Kodomo no hi—Children’s Day—at CMOA!

The art and culture of Japan awaits your entire family inspired by this Japanese national holiday and our exhibition Hiroshige’s Tōkaidō Road. Learn about the traditions associated with celebrating the strength, happiness, and good fortune of children on this special day. Make flags decorated with spirited koi fish (carp), listen to Japanese folk tales and stories, see and touch a Samurai helmet, and try a traditional rice Mochi cake. View the prints and touch a woodblock in the exhibition and create your own prints that tell about a favorite journey. The powerful rumbling sounds of Pittsburgh Taiko drummers round out this fun-filled afternoon.

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).