Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Chinese-American Connor Joe.

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Connoe Joe today from the Colorado Rockies. Joe was originally a first-round draft choice of the Pirates in 2015 but was traded to Atlanta two years later, and spent parts of the last three years in the Major Leagues.

Tickets now available for Japanese puppet performances AKUTAGAWA, in Pittsburgh on February 5.

Pittsburgh CAPA will host two performances of AKUTAGAWA on February 5, followed by a puppeteer panel discussion on February 7. A synopsis of the performance, from the Japan America Society of Pennsylvania:

AKUTAGAWA is a stage portrait of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, father of the modern Japanese short novel and author of In a Grove, the basis of Akira Kurosawa’s landmark 1950 film Rashomon. Told through the traditional puppetry style kuruma ningyo blended with dynamic video images, AKUTAGAWA is an amalgam of five of his famous short stories—including Rashomon, Hell Screen (Jigokuhen), The Dragon, Toshishun and Kappa. The show explores the author’s artistic insight and fragile emotional state. This production is made through an international collaboration between puppeteers Koryu Nishikawa V (Tokyo) and Tom Lee (Chicago), with live music by Yukio Tsuji (New York).

AKUTAGAWA is supported by Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) and The Osaka Community Foundation / anonymous fund No.22.

Tickets are now available online: $28 for the general public and $18 for students with valid student ID or those under 18. The JASP says of the puppeteer panel discussion on the 7th:

Koryu Nishikawa V and Tom Lee will join Pittsburgh-based puppeteer David English in a panel discussing how puppetry can be a vehicle to express art and literature, as well as the cultural differences in the medium.

Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts is located at 111 9th Street downtown (map).

New Japanese animated movie That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond (転生したらスライムだった件 紅蓮の絆編) in Pittsburgh, from January 19.

The Japanese animated movie That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond (転生したらスライムだった件 紅蓮の絆編) will play in Pittsburgh from January 19.

A long-running conspiracy is swirling over a mysterious power wielded by the Queen in Raja, a small country west of Tempest. When a slime who evolved into a Demon Lord named Rimuru Tempest crosses paths with Hiiro, a survivor of the Ogre race, an incredible adventure packed with new characters begins. The power of bonds will be put to the test!

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, and Monroeville. Tickets are available online; please note, some shows are dubbed in English while others are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Anime Night Goes Plus Ultra, January 26 at Hard Rock Cafe.

The Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh will host Anime Night Goes Plus Ultra on January 26.

Anime Night is a dance party inspired by music popularized throughout anime. This edition of Anime Night, "Anime Night Goes Plus Ultra", celebrates the music of My Hero Academia, alongside other anime giants such as Naruto: Shippuden, One Piece, Demon Slayer, Fairy Tail, and many more.

The show is 21+, doors open at 7:00 pm, and the event starts at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online. The Hard Rock Cafe is located at 230 W. Station Square Drive (map) in Station Square.

U Had To Be There: KPOP NIGHT at Roxian Theatre, January 27

U Had To Be There, a national pop-up party organizer, will present Kpop Night at Roxian Theater on January 27. The all-ages show starts at 7:00 pm and tickets are available online. The Roxian Theatre is located at 425 Chartiers Ave. in McKees Rocks (map).

Sine Trading International (赛因国际贸易) hiring Chinese-speaking Logistics Accounting Assistant/物流财务助理.

Manchester-based Sine Trading International (赛因国际贸易) is hiring a Chinese-speaking Logistics Accounting Assistant/物流财务助理.

Sine Trading International (www.SineTrading.com), a fast growing company providing international shipping, Customs Clearance and U.S. domestic shipping to companies around the world, is expanding fast and in need of a full time accounting assistant to help with generating accounts receivables.

Pittsburgh Pirates organization adds Taiwanese pitcher Wei-Chieh Huang (黃暐傑) in minor league phase of Rule 5 draft.

The Pittsburgh Pirates made Taiwanese pitcher Wei-Chieh Huang (黃暐傑) one of their five selections in Wednesday's Rule 5 draft. Huang was selected in the Minor League portion, and is not required to remain on the Major League roster. The 29 year old pitched in four career Major League games so far, with the Texas Rangers in 2019.

The Pirates have had numerous Taiwanese players in the system over the years, and two on the Major League roster: Wei-chung Wang in 2019 and Yu Chang in 2022.

1985 Akira Kurosawa film Ran (乱) at Row House Cinema, from December 26.

The 1985 Akira Kurosawa film Ran (乱) will play at the Row House Cinema from December 26 through January 5, 2023. A 2010 Washington Post review summarizes:

Based on Shakespeare's "King Lear" and set in 16th-century feudal Japan, Akira Kurosawa's 1985 antiwar epic is almost over the top with betrayal, battle and blood. At times, the red stuff flows like paint from the brush of Jackson Pollock. It's an angry and expressive spurt of pigment, emblematic of the director's rage -- the title is the Japanese character for "chaos" or "fury" -- and not a realistic body fluid.

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

Japanese puppet performance AKUTAGAWA in Pittsburgh, February 5; puppeteer panel discussion on February 7.

Pittsburgh CAPA will host two performances of AKUTAGAWA on February 5, followed by a puppeteer panel discussion on February 7. A synopsis of the performance, from the Japan America Society of Pennsylvania:

AKUTAGAWA is a stage portrait of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, father of the modern Japanese short novel and author of In a Grove, the basis of Akira Kurosawa’s landmark 1950 film Rashomon. Told through the traditional puppetry style kuruma ningyo blended with dynamic video images, AKUTAGAWA is an amalgam of five of his famous short stories—including Rashomon, Hell Screen (Jigokuhen), The Dragon, Toshishun and Kappa. The show explores the author’s artistic insight and fragile emotional state. This production is made through an international collaboration between puppeteers Koryu Nishikawa V (Tokyo) and Tom Lee (Chicago), with live music by Yukio Tsuji (New York).

AKUTAGAWA is supported by Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) and The Osaka Community Foundation / anonymous fund No.22.

Tickets are not yet available, but those interested can pre-register to get more information later. The JASP says of the puppeteer panel discussion on the 7th:

Koryu Nishikawa V and Tom Lee will join Pittsburgh-based puppeteer David English in a panel discussing how puppetry can be a vehicle to express art and literature, as well as the cultural differences in the medium.

Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts is located at 111 9th Street downtown (map).

Japanese animated movie The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie (映画 五等分の花嫁) continues in Pittsburgh through December 14.

The 2022 Japanese animated movie The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie (映画 五等分の花嫁), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 2, will remain here through (at least) December 14. From the distributor:

When five lovely young girls who hate studying hire part-time tutor Futaro, he guides not only their education but also their hearts. Time spent has brought them all closer, with feelings growing within the girls and Futaro. As they finish their third year of high school and their last school festival approaches, they set their sights on what’s next. Is there a future with one of them and Futaro?

It plays at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.