1964 film Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ) at Row House Cinema, June 9.

The 1964 Japanese film Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ) will play at Row House Cinema on June 9.

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra’s fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan’s own pleas for help.

The show is in Japanese with English subtitles, and tickets for the 7:25 pm show are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Taiwanese baseball player Yu Chang (張育成).

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Taiwanese baseball player Yu Chang (張育成) from the Cleveland Guardians today for cash considerations. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes of the infielder:

Chang, 26, was designated for assignment on Thursday. He has played parts of four years in Cleveland, hitting .208 with a .637 OPS in 131 games, with his best year coming in 2021.

Chang played 89 games that season and hit .228 with a .693 OPS, compiling 14 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 39 RBIs and 32 runs scored.

. . .

He’s been worth 8 Outs Above Average, per Baseball Savant, and is capable of playing all four infield positions.

Assuming he plays for the Pirates he will be the second Taiwanese player in team history, after Wei-Chung Wang in 2019, though there have been numerous Taiwanese prospects in the minor league system over the last two decades.

Kpop Dance Workshops at Yanlai Dance Academy, July 31, August 7, 14, 21.

Yanlai Dance Academy will once again offer Kpop Dance Workshops, with this summer's sessions scheduled for July 31, August 7, 14, and 21.

Join us for an hour-long class where you will learn a popular K-pop dance! Or join us for all 8 classes!
Ages 10 and up. All dance levels welcome!
Drop-in $15. All 8 classes $100.
Specific song schedule will be released June 10.
Class 1: July 31 | 3:45-4:45pm | TBD
Class 2: July 31 | 4:45-5:45pm | TBD
Class 3: Aug 7 | 3:45-4:45pm | TBD
Class 4: Aug 7 | 4:45-5:45pm | TBD
Class 5: Aug 14 | 3:45-4:45pm | TBD
Class 6: Aug 14 | 4:45-5:45pm | TBD
Class 7: Aug 21 | 3:45-4:45pm | TBD
Class 8: Aug 21 | 4:45-5:45pm | TBD
Follow Yanlai Dance Academy on Facebook or Instagram for up-to-date-information

Yanlai Dance Academy is located at 2260 Babcock Boulevard in the North Hills (map).

2021 Japanese film Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (漁港の肉子ちゃん) in Pittsburgh, June 2.

Showtimes were just announced for the 2021 Japanese film Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (漁港の肉子ちゃん), which will play in Pittsburgh on June 2. A synopsis, from the distributor:

From acclaimed director Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea) and STUDIO4℃ (Tekkonkinkreet, Mind Game, Animatrix), Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is a heartwarming and moving comedy-drama about an unconventional family, based on the popular novel by Kanako Nishi.

Nikuko is a brash, jolly, scattered, and passionate woman in an otherwise sleepy seaside town in northern Japan. She’s also the single mother of 11-year-old Kikuko, who is her opposite in many ways. Kikuko is a string-bean of a young girl, pensive, quietly curious, and methodical in how she approaches life in this small harbor town.

Nikuko embarrasses Kikuko as any mom of a preteen would, but Nikuko’s bold spirit makes her especially well-known in a town where Kikuko herself wants nothing more than to simply blend in. As Kikuko navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school, enhanced with touches of magical realism from her ever-present imagination, a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair’s tender relationship.

This one night event will feature an exclusive introduction by director Ayumu Watanabe and Executive Producer Sanma Akashiya.

It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark Theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Free Korean Learning Circle classes for beginners and intermediates continue at Carnegie Library in Oakland in June.

via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland will continue to host "We Learn: Beginner Korean Learning Circle" and "We Learn: Intermediate Korean Learning Circle" in June.

The beginners' class runs every Saturday from 1:00 to 2:00 pm.

In this beginner-level class, we will use the textbook published by the Korean government for foreigners who learn Korean as a secondary language. We will start from writing/reading Korean characters, ‘Hangul’, and learn how to organize sentence structures. Register for the event here.

And the intermediate class runs every Saturday from 11:00 to 12:00 pm.

In this intermediate-level class, we will cover the textbook published by the Korean government for foreigners who learn Korean as a secondary language. We will cover basic Korean grammar and vocabulary, and practice how to speak and write using what we’ve covered in each lecture.

Registration is required for the intermediate class as well.

The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

Onigiri (Rice Ball) Workshop with Ginger Brooks Takahashi, June 17 in Oakland.

via 5th Luna

The JADED public art programming series will present an Onigiri (Rice Ball) Workshop with Ginger Brooks Takahashi on June 17. From the JADED Instagram page:

Learn how to make onigiri (Japanese rice balls, perfect for taking on picnics or in a lunch box) with various fillings and wraps! The workshop will be limited to 20 people maximum.

After the workshop, we will convene outdoors with a picnic open to the wider public community (open to AAPI allies as well) from 5-7PM! Bring other dishes to share with others!

The workshop will be held at Phipps Conservatory in Oakland (map). Registration is required and can be made online.

Full video release of Pittsburgh Opera's In A Grove, based on short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, now available online through summer.

In case you missed the May 15 release, Pittsburgh Opera's video of In A Grove, the opera based on short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa that played in Pittsburgh this past February and March, is now available online through the summer.

If you missed our world premiere run this past February, this is your chance to see what onStage Pittsburgh calls "an all round, world-class collaboration," and what the Wall Street Journal dubs "alluring and dramatically hypnotic."

Music by Christopher Cerrone, libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann, based on the short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Antony Walker conducts; Mary Birnbaum directs.

Izakaya coming soon to Bakery Square.

An izakaya from the Richard Deshantz Restaurant Group and Chef Michael Taylor of Gi-Jin is coming soon to Bakery Square, NextPittsburgh writes. As the Bakery Square Instagram page says, an izakaya is "a type of Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks." Bakery Square is a mixed-use development in Larimer, across from Mellon Park and a block from the East Liberty Target (map).

2021 Japanese film The Deer King (鹿の王) in Pittsburgh, July 13.

The 2021 Japanese film The Deer King (鹿の王) will play in Pittsburgh on July 13. A synopsis from the distributor:

In the aftermath of a brutal war, former soldier Van toils in a mine controlled by the ruling empire. One day, his solitary existence is upended when a pack of wild dogs carrying a deadly and incurable disease attack, leaving only Van and a young girl named Yuna as survivors. Finally free, the pair seek out a simple existence in the countryside but are pursued by nefarious forces. Intent on protecting Yuna at all costs, Van must uncover the true cause of the plague ravaging the kingdom—and its possible cure.

The Deer King is a sweeping fantasy epic that marks the directing debut of Masashi Ando, whose work on such landmark films as Spirited Away, Paprika, and Your Name. helped shape the world of modern animation.

It is currently scheduled to play at the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson, and tickets are available online . The movie is also set to play in select theaters around the country on July 14 and 15, though information is not yet available.

"We Learn: Japanese Learning Circle" hybrid meetings continue at Carnegie Library in East Liberty (and online), Thursdays in June.

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

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branch in East Liberty, which resumed its Japanese classes in April with "We Learn: Japanese Learning Circle" meetings, will continue them Thursdays in June (and perhaps beyond). The events will be hybrid, both in-person and remote.

Join us for interactive Japanese language learning. We will cover basic, intermediate, and advanced topics based on students’ experience and interest. We are happy to share cultural knowledge from Japan as well. Register on the P2PU website: https://learningcircles.p2pu.org/en/signup/carnegie-library-of-pittsburgh-east-liberty-2006/

The classes run from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).