Kusama: Infinity documentary in Pittsburgh, from November 16.

The 2018 documentary Kusama: Infinity will play at the Row House Cinema from November 16 as part of its "In Case You Missed It" series.

Now the top-selling female artist in the world, Yayoi Kusama overcame impossible odds to bring her radical artistic vision to the world stage. For decades, her work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from both her peers and those in power in the art world. Kusama was an underdog with everything stacked against her: the trauma of growing up in Japan during World War II, life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, mental illness in a culture where that was particularly shameful and even continuing to pursue and be devoted to her art full time on the cusp of her 90s. In spite of it all, Kusama has endured and has created a legacy of artwork that spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, poetry and literary fiction. After working as an artist for over six decades, people around the globe are experiencing her installation Infinity Mirrored Rooms in record numbers, as Kusama continues to create new work every day.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

"How To Read A Kimono: Reconsidering The Makioka Sisters" at Pitt, November 6.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host Michiko Suzuki and her talk "How To Read A Kimono: Reconsidering The Makioka Sisters" on Tuesday, November 6.

Kimonos in literature and film are often ignored by scholars as nothing more than aesthetic objects/clothing that enhance historical realism. But in fact, kimonos speak of many things, including the character of the wearer, social commentary, and important symbolic meanings for the plot.

This talk uses kimonos to examine Tanizaki Jun'ichirō's Sasameyuki (The Makioka Sisters, 1943-48)a move depicting a wealthy merchant family in Osaka. Based loosely on the lives of the author's wife and her siblings, the work was considered frivolous and censored during the war; it was only completed and published in the postwar period. Examining kimonos discussed in the text, Professor Suzuki illuminates their complex meanings in light of changing laws, sartorial culture and social contexts. She will also discuss visual presentations of kimonos in two film versions of the Makioka Sisters, one produced in 1950 during the U.S. Occupation and the other in 1983 at the height of Japan's economic prosperity.

The talk runs from 12:00 to 1:30 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

2018 Korean Music Festival, November 3.

The Korean Association of Greater Pittsburgh and the Korean Heritage Room will present the 2018 Korean Music Festival on Saturday, November 3. It will start at 7:00 pm at Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (map). The event is $10 for adults, free for students and children, and half-price for those who come dressed in hanbok.

Tickets now available for I Want To Eat Your Pancreas (君の膵臓をたべたい) in Pittsburgh, from February 7.

The 2018 Japanese animated movie I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (君の膵臓をたべたい) will play in Pittsburgh on February 7 and 10.

A high school boy stumbles across a secret journal in a hospital one day. He soon finds out the diary belongs to his classmate, a girl named Sakura Yamauchi, who is revealed to be suffering from a terminal illness in her pancreas and only has a few months left to live. A secret they share that brings their hearts closer together.

Tickets are now available online. It will play at the Southside Works Cinema, located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

Japanese Conversation Table, November 2 at Pitt.

"Osaka, Japan" by Pedro Szekely (Creative Commons)

Pitt's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will hold its next Japanese Conversation Table on Friday, November 2. It's a chance for native Japanese speakers and members of the Pitt community learning Japanese to meet and practice outside of the classroom. The sessions meet in 244A of the Cathedral of Learning (map) from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm on November 2 and November 30.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring bilingual English+Mandarin SSAT tutor.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education and consulting company WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced openings for part-time bilingual SSAT tutors.

The academic support department of Wholeren Education is looking for talented, experienced tutors in SSAT for high school level Chinese international students in the US. We help both struggling and gifted students reach their full potential by supplementing the instruction they receive in class and guiding them toward study practices and aides that can help them excel. Tutors work with individual students one-on-one, though we occasionally organize group activities for students who are studying the same material. Most of the time, we provide our students with online tutoring unless the tutor is located in the same area with the student. Our team offers compassionate, motivating assistance to students, and we expect our new hires to do the same. If you have experience tutoring students, please submit an application.

2018 movie Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions The Movie: Take O (映画 中二病でも恋がしたい！ -Take On Me) in Pittsburgh, November 4.

The 2018 Japanese animated movie Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions The Movie: Take O (映画 中二病でも恋がしたい！ -Take On Me) will play in Pittsburgh on November 4. The Anime News Network provides a summary of the movie based on a manga series:

Rikka is now a third-year student, but she still has "chūnibyō" syndrome. University entrance exams loom on the horizon, and it's spring break, and Yūta and Rikka are together as usual. One day, Rikka's older sister Tōka declares that she's going to take Rikka to Italy with her, as Tōka is moving to Italy for work and she thinks they should move together as a family. Yūta understands Tōka's opinion, but thinks that at this rate he and Rikka will be separated. Shinka and the other members suggest that Yūta and Rikka should "elope," and thus sets the stage for Yūta and Rikka's travels throughout Japan in their escape drama.

The movie plays in Japanese with English subtitles at the Southside Works Cinema. Tickets for the 7:00 pm show are available online. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

Japanese-language yoga class in Shadyside, Saturdays from November 3.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Shadyside (map) will host Japanese-language yoga sessions on Saturdays, from November 3. The cost is $10 per session, and though reservations are not required they are recommended as space is limited.

Pitt hiring Assistant Instructor of Korean for Fall 2019 start.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures is hiring an Assistant Instructor of Korean for a Fall 2019 start.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh (http://www.deall.pitt.edu) invites applications for an Assistant Instructor position in Korea studies, pending budgetary approval, beginning September 1, 2019. The position is non-tenure stream with the possibility of renewal for a multi-year contract. The successful candidate is expected to contribute significantly to the Korean language program and teach language courses on all levels. The successful candidate should hold an MA in teaching Korean as a foreign language or in an allied field, possess native or near-native competence in all skill areas of Korean and English, and have at least one year of teaching experience at a North American institution of higher education.

The new hire should be prepared to teach classes for both undergraduate and graduate students. Instruction to graduate students may involve PhD and MA students whose focus may be on literature, history, art history, religion, anthropology, etc. Preference will be given to candidates who possess linguistic knowledge of the Korean language, and who demonstrate familiarity with theories in second language acquisition and current practices in Korean pedagogy in North American higher education settings. Any expertise in non-language areas such as film, popular culture, literature, etc. will be a plus. Duties include teaching both recitations and lectures of language courses as well as working closely with the language coordinator to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Korean language program. The appointee should expect to collaborate with Asianists in other units (e. g., the Asian Studies Center) to promote Korea studies.

The application deadline is November 9; additional application details and requirements are available on the job posting.

Pitt hiring Assistant Instructor of Chinese for Fall 2019 start.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures is hiring an Assistant Instructor of Chinese for a Fall 2019 start.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh (http://www.deall.pitt.edu) invites applications for an Assistant Instructor position in Chinese, pending budgetary approval, beginning September 1st, 2019. The position is non-tenure-stream with the possibility of renewal. The successful candidate is expected to contribute significantly to the Chinese language program and teach language courses on all levels. The successful candidate should hold an MA in Chinese as a foreign language or in an allied field, possess native or near-native competence in Chinese and English, and have at least two years of Chinese language teaching experience at a North American institution of higher education.

Preference will be given to candidates who possess linguistic knowledge of the Chinese language and who demonstrate familiarity with current practices in Chinese pedagogy in North American higher education settings. Duties include teaching both recitations and lectures of language courses, as well as working closely with the language coordinator to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Chinese language program. The appointee should also expect to collaborate with Asianists in other units (e. g., the Asian Studies Center) to promote Chinese language learning and China studies.

The application deadline is November 9; additional application details and requirements are available on the job posting.