"2021 Lunar New Year Virtual Celebration," February 23 at Pitt.

via fourbrickstall (Creative Commons)

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center, Global Studies Center, and Institute for International Studies in Education will host the "2021 Lunar New Year Virtual Celebration" on February 23.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The event will occur in the evenning at Eastern Time because that is the best time for our global participants.

Join us for a virtual Lunar New Year celebration as we learn about the meanings and traditions of this important and festive holiday from global perspectives! All are invited!

It runs from 9:00 to 10:00 pm and is open to the Pitt community. Registration is required.

Chaya says good bye (and thank you).

A farewell message of thanks from the owners of Chaya Japanese Cuisine, which closed on January 30 after two decades of service to sushi lovers and the Japanese community.

Mosaic Leaf Matcha Tea Bar opens in Lawrenceville.

via @mosaicleaf

The Incline shares news of Mosaic Leaf Matcha Tea Bar, which opened recently in Lawrenceville.

Mosaic Leaf is Pittsburgh's first matcha tea bar and botanical blending company located in Lawrenceville. We feature Ultra Matcha, our artisan matcha tea blends and premium Japanese matcha straight from the farm.

It is located at 3511 Butler St. (map).

"Pittsburgh's Lost Chinatown" with Doors Open Pittsburgh, February 8.

Doors Open Pittsburgh will hold an online presentation on "Pittsburgh's Lost Chinatown" on February 8.

In the early 1900s, Pittsburgh’s Chinatown was thriving. With more than 20 restaurants, bakeries, import shops, and food markets, it was a lively center for commerce. This story reveals why, how, and when Chinatown vanished from the Pittsburgh landscape.

Its temple, social halls, and merchant societies formed a welcoming home base for Pittsburgh’s 500 Chinese residents. Today just one restaurant remains. This story reveals why, how, and when Chinatown vanished from the Pittsburgh landscape.

The event begins at 7:30 pm and tickets start at $5.

Signage up for new Panda Supermarket location in Squirrel Hill.

Signage recently went up for the new Panda Supermarket (熊猫超市) location in Squirrel Hill, a few storefronts down from its current spot on Forbes Ave. It purchased the building at 5818 Forbes Ave. (map) in August 2019 and began renovations on the spot last summer. It originally opened in 2017 and will stay open at its current spot until it moves in a month or two.

"Japanese Culture through Video Games," March 31 with Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host Dr. Rachael Hutchinson and her talk "Japanese Culture through Video Games" on March 31, a talk that was scheduled last April at Pitt but ultimately postponed.

Japanese video games have had a significant impact on the medium worldwide. Dr. Rachael Hutchinson considers how ‘Japan’ has been packaged for domestic and overseas consumers, and how Japanese designers have used the medium to express ideas about home and nation, nuclear energy, war and historical memory, social breakdown and bioethics. She explores how ideology and critique are conveyed through game narrative and character design as well as user interface, cabinet art, and peripherals. Ultimately, she argues that Japanese artists have expressed similar ideas in the video game medium as in older narrative forms such as literature and film.

The online talk is free though seating is limited and registration is required.

"Videation: Scattered Speculations on Asian Video," February 10 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Dr. Joshua Neves and his talk "Videation: Scattered Speculations on Asian Video" on February 10. The title of the talk is the title of his chapter in Asian Video Cultures, pictured above. An overview of the talk from the Asian Studies Center newsletter:

Please join us on 2/10 @ 6:30 pm for the keynote lecture of the 2021 Asia Pop series with Dr. Joshua Neves of Concordia University. His talk pursues a series of speculations about Asian video cultures since the 1990s along three main lines of inquiry. First, it situates recent attention to internet and mobile video practices within a longer history. Second, the presentation reflects on key insights drawn from his research into the cultural and geopolitics of video technologies. Finally he turns to contemporary video forms and practices on the internet and social media tracing a range of issues about short video aesthetics, popular politics, platformization, and global tensions.

The talk was postponed from its originally-scheduled January 27 date. The talk begins at 6:30 pm, online, and registration is required.

1957 film Sumpah Pontianak online with Pitt's Asian Studies Center, rescheduled to February 17.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 1957 film Sumpah Pontianak on February 17 as part of its upcoming Pontianak Film Series.

Third in the series of schlocky films from the 50s. The first Pontianak film appeared in 1957 Singaporean Malay horror film directed by Indian film director B.N. Rao starring Maria Menado and M. Amin. Based on the Malay folktales of a blood-sucking ghost born from a woman who dies in childbirth. The smash hit premiered on 27 April 1957 and screened for almost three months at the local Cathay cinemas. Its success spawned two other sequels, Dendam Pontianak (Revenge of the Pontianak, 1957) and Sumpah Pontianak (Curse of the Pontianak, 1958). It is also said to have launched the Pontianak genre in Singapore and Malaysia, with rival Shaw producing its own Pontianak trilogy and several movies of the same genre were also made in Malaysia.

The movie has been pushed back two weeks from its originally-scheduled screening. It starts on Vimeo at 7:00 pm, and registration is required.

2016 Korean film Train to Busan (부산행) (online) at Pitt, February 10.

The Office of International Services at the University of Pittsburgh will present the 2016 Korean film Train to Busan (부산행) on February 10 as part of its Watch Party Wednesday series. From the Korean Movie Database:

A mysterious viral outbreak pushes Korea into a state of emergency! As an unidentified virus sweeps the country, Korean government declares martial law. Those on an express train to Busan, a city that has successfully fended off the viral outbreak, must fight for their own survival… 453 km from Seoul to Busan. The struggle to survive by those who have others to protect! Get on board to stay alive!

< The movie starts at 7:00 pm and free and open to the Pitt community, though registration is required.

"Global Issues Through Literature: To Swim Across the World by Frances Park & Ginger Park," February 18 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host a discussion of the novel To Swim Across the World by Frances Park & Ginger Park on February 18. An overview of the reading group:

This reading group for educators explores literary texts from a global perspective. Content specialists present the work and its context, and together we brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the text and its themes into the curriculum. Sessions this year will take place virtually on Thursday evenings from 5-7:30 PM. Books and Act 48 credit are provided.

And a synopsis of the book, from the authors' website:

Adult/YA: To Swim Across the World is inspired by the lives of the authors’ parents. Frances Park and Ginger Park’s deeply affecting novel is based on the true story of a boy and a girl from opposite ends of the Korean peninsula who endure the Japanese Occupation, the division of their country, and, ultimately, the Korean War.

It is 1941, and Japan occupies Korea. For Sei-Young Shin, a young man from a poor family in the rural south, it is a time of oppression. Life is gentler for Heisook Pang, the daughter of a prominent minister in a northern city. In the aftermath of World War II, the power of Communism grows in the north and Heisook’s future is in peril. She makes a daring escape, slipping into the south where she meets Sei-Young, an encounter that will bond them for life.

History and its changes influence Sei-Young and Heisook in different ways, but their stories share sacrifice, tragedy, and love. Precisely and beautifully written, To Swim Across the World is a moving vision of a country’s terrible and recent past, and an intimate account of the interlocking of two lives, and two destinies.

The discussion will take place on Zoom from 5:00 to 7:30 pm and advance registration is required.