Poetry Reading : Takako Arai, September 18 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host a poetry reading with Takako Arai on September 18.

Please join us for a poetry reading by Takako Arai at the Humanities Center (Cathedral of Learning Rm 602) on September 18 at 4pm. Ms. Arai will read a selection of her poems in Japanese and with English translation. She is in the U.S. as part of The University of Iowa’s prestigious creative writing residency, the International Writers Program. Arai is known for writing socially engaged poetry. She writes in particular about the lives of working women as they are affected by such forces as globalization, economic decline, and the 2011 triple disaster in northeastern Japan.

Takako Arai was born in 1966 in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture to a family engaged in textile manufacturing, a traditional industry in Kiryu.

The event starts at 4:00 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival (匹茲堡龍舟節), October 5 at North Park.

The annual Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival (匹茲堡龍舟節) will take place on October 5 at North Park.

The Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival is not only a fun day at beautiful North Park Lake, it's an amazing opportunity for friends, family, and co-workers to form community teams for friendly competition in genuine dragon boats! The 40 ft canoes are a sight to behold on their own, let alone when they're being paddled in sync by 20 people! The races are an excellent team bonding experience! And it's all for a great cause! Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel a Dragon Boat Racing Team for BCS (Breast Cancer Survivors) uses all proceeds to promote awareness and the benefits of the sport of dragon boating racing for breast cancer survivors. If you, or someone you love, has been affected by the disease, this is an awesome way to "do something about it"! There are also cultural demonstrations, food and marketplace activities that are free to the public! Join us to race, or join us to watch, it's a great day! More information on how to sign up a team can be found at:
www.pghdragonboatfestival.org

The event starts at 8:30 am and runs until 3:00 pm, with cultural demonstrations running from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. It will be held at and around the Boathouse at North Park Lake in the North Hills (map) and is free and open to the public.

Science on the Screen: Akira at Row House Cinema, September 19.

Row House Cinema will host CMU's Molly Wright Steenson to accompany the September 19th screening of Akira (アキラ).

Akira’s future has finally become present day! The 1988 film predicts life in Tokyo in 2019. Join us for a discussion with Professor Molly Wright Steenson from Carnegie Mellon University, who will be exploring the potential of Akira’s science fictions becoming reality. Sit back and enjoy watching the film with all that you’ve learned in mind!

The evening begins at 9:15 pm and tickets are available online. Akira is one of four movies playing from September 13 through 19 as part of Row House Cinema's Anime Film Series. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Chinese calligraphy workshop downtown, October 12.

"Chinese calligrapher," by David Boté Estrada (Creative Commons).

The downtown branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host a Chinese calligraphy workshop on October 12.

A Chinese calligraphy expert will show us pictures of her home in China, give background on the art of calligraphy, and lead a Chinese calligraphy workshop for all ages! No registration is necessary for these sessions. Seating for all workshops is available to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. You’ll want to come early to be sure you MAKE it on time.

The event runs from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. The Downtown & Business branch is located at 612 Smithfield St. (map).

Japanese/Chinese restaurant to replace China Palace in Shadyside.

Shadyside's China Palace closed in July after nearly 30 years in business, and handwritten signage went up to announce a Japanese / Chinese restaurant will fill the space at 5440 Walnut St. Below that sign, and slightly obscured by the fold, is another note that says both the China Palace and Mt. Everest cuisine will be available; Mt. Everest sushi is the name of a restaurant in Oakland.

"We Are Here: Asian Pacific Islander American Artists in Pittsburgh" part of Gallery Crawl in Cultural District, September 27.

by @pattytran.art

The exhibition "We Are Here: Asian Pacific Islander American Artists in Pittsburgh" at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council is part of this month's Gallery Crawl through the Cultural District on September 27.

Although Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) have been present in Pittsburgh since the 1870s and represent an ever-growing community in the city and in the country at-large, APIA’s continue to struggle for representation. This exhibition aims to provide visibility for this community: for the first time in Pittsburgh’s history, every exhibiting artist in "We Are Here" identifies as APIA. While some of these artists create work directly informed by their race, family backgrounds, and sociopolitical history, all possess an identity created in the context of omission and discrimination.

By giving a physical space for viewers to look at and engage with these artists’ work, we hope to set a precedent for the local art scene, educate the larger public, develop dialogue, and voice that "We Are Here," we have been here, and we will continue to create.

All art will be for sale. The event is free but online RSVP is required. It runs from 5:30 to 8:00 pm on the 12th in the GPAC Big Room on the 7th floor of 810 Penn Ave. (map).

"Sonic and Visual Trajectories: Taiwan's Pop Music in Chinese-Speaking Asia," September 26 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Marc Moskowitz and his talk "Sonic and Visual Trajectories: Taiwan's Pop Music in Chinese-Speaking Asia" on September 26.

Taiwan's popular music has shaped China's music and culture to a surprising degree. The roots of Taiwan's music industry can be found in the 1930s Jazz era in Shanghai. Sixty years later, Taiwan was the hub of the Chinese-language pop music industry--a sonic movement that shaped CHinese understandings of music, gender, and individuality in the contemporary age. Today, music videos and mash-ups that are posted to YouTube (and its Chinese counterparts Youku and Tudou) demonstrate cultural proximity between China and Taiwan that reveals both shared cultural understandings and ongoing regional tensions that arise out of their distinctive pasts.

The talk starts at 5:00 pm in 144 Cathedral of Learning and is free and open to the public.

2017 Japanese zombie comedy film One Cut of the Dead カメラを止めるな!) back in Pittsburgh, October 18 - 23.

The 2017 Japanese zombie comedy film One Cut of the Dead (カメラを止めるな!), which first came to Pittsburgh in January and was part of the last Japanese Film Festival, will play in McKees Rocks from October 18 through 23. A 2018 Variety review says:

Viewers get three films for the price of one in “One Cut for the Dead,” a terrific Japanese horror-comedy that proves there’s somewhere the zombie apocalypse movie hasn’t yet gone. Writer-director-editor Shinichiro Ueda’s cleverly conceived and executed debut feature opens with an unbroken 37-minute shot of monster mayhem before hitting the reset button and turning into a funny satire of low-budget genre filmmaking — and eventually becoming a charming family comedy-drama. Packed with witty nods to classic horror movies, “One Cut” is a natural for genre fests and has such a warm and winning heart it could also fit into mainstream festival programs.

The movie runs from October 18 through 23 at the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks (map). Showtimes are available via Facebook but tickets are not yet for sale.

2019 film Promare (プロメア) in Pittsburgh, September 17 and 19.

The 2019 Japanese animated film Promare (プロメア) will play in Pittsburgh on September 17. The distributor summarizes:

The first feature-length film from the acclaimed studio TRIGGER, creators of the hit series KILL la KILL and Little Witch Academia, and director Hiroyuki Imaishi (GURREN LAGANN, KILL la KILL), Promare uses a bold cel-shaded visual style to tell a blistering action-adventure story, and is the spiritual successor to many of director Imaishi’s former works.

Thirty years has passed since the appearance of Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves “Mad Burnish” appears, the epic battle between Galo Thymos, a new member of the anti-Burnish rescue team “Burning Rescue,” and Lio Fotia, the leader of “Mad Burnish” begins.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and AMC South Hills Village, Southside Works Cinema, and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and Robinson. The September 17 shows are dubbed in English while the September 19 ones are in Japanese with English subtitles. Tickets are available online.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, September 17.

via archdaily.org

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on September 17 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese for children and their parents or caregivers. For children age birth – 5 and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).