1952 Japanese film Ikiru (生きる) in Pittsburgh, February 4 and 5.

The 1952 Akira Kurosawa film Ikiru (生きる) will play in Pittsburgh on February 4 and 5.

In conjunction with the opening of the new remake, LIVING (opening at the Harris on Jan 27), we are pleased to present a big screen showing of the legendary Akira Kurosawa original. Considered by some to be Kurosawa’s greatest achievement, IKIRU presents the director at his most compassionate — affirming life through an exploration of a man’s death. Takashi Shimura portrays Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat whose diagnosis with a fatal illness forces him to strip the veneer off his existence and find meaning in his final days. Told in two parts, Ikiru offers Watanabe’s quest in the present, and then through a series of flashbacks. The result is a multifaceted look at a life through a prism of perspectives, resulting in a full portrait of a man who lacked understanding from others while alive.

It plays at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map) and tickets are available online.

Dr. Tea, from the Mt. Everest Sushi owners, now open in Shadyside.

via Dr Tea 

A new tea place, Dr. Tea, opened in Shadyside on January 15. It specializes in milk teas, fruit teas, and lattes, and is from the team behind Oakland's Mt. Everest Sushi, according to the county's restaurant inspection records. It's located at 736 Bellefonte St. (map), above The Yard.

Year of the Rabbit Lunar New Year Celebration and AAPI Art Show, February 3 - 19 at Radiant Hall in McKees Rocks.

JADED will present its Year of the Rabbit Lunar New Year Celebration and AAPI Art Show at Radiant Hall in McKees Rocks (map), starting with an opening reception on February 3 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm and running through the 19th.

🐉 JADED PGH @jadedpgh invites Pittsburgh-area AAPI artists to submit art for the Year of the Rabbit🐰 Lunar New Year Celebratory Art Show. 🔥

🐰🌕🥣In East Asian folklore, the rabbit/hare is deeply connected with the moon deity, pounding out the elixir of life, immortality, and in some areas, mochi, from its mortar and pestle. We are excited for the year of the Water Rabbit, a new year of drawing closer to community. 💖 🙌🏾🐇

👉🏾 Visual, written, audiovisual, spoken word, and performance work must be ready to hang, display, or perform. 🖊️ Submit your name, artist statement, image of work, title of work, date, medium, dimensions, discription, and price to jadedpgh@gmail.com by JAN 28. 👈🏾
Submitting multiple works is encouraged.

YEAR OF THE RABBIT 🐰 LUNAR NEW YEAR 🧧🌕 & AAPI ART SHOW

✨ RADIANT HALL STUDIOS ✨ @radianthall MCKEES ROCKS
FEB 3-19

✨ OPENING RECEPTION ✨
& EVENING OF APPI PERFORMANCES, SPOKEN WORD, & OPEN MIC 🎤
FRI FEB 3, 7-10 PM

"Exploring Media Ecosystems and Participatory Culture in Contemporary Japan," January 24 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Dr. Keisuke Yamada and his talk "Exploring Media Ecosystems and Participatory Culture in Contemporary Japan' on January 24, the first installment of this semester's Asia Pop Lecture Series: Fan Cultures. It will be held from 6:00 pm in 5201 Posvar Hall (map), and is free and open to the public.

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 available online at $28 for the general public and $18 for students 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).

An Evening with Brenda Song, January 26 at Pitt.

The Pitt Program Council and Asian Student Alliance will present "An Evening with Brenda Song" on January 26. The event is free and open to the University of Pittsburgh undergraduate community, while tickets last:

Join Pitt Program Council and Asian Student Alliance in celebrating AAPI month with “An Evening with Brenda Song” on Thursday, January 26th at 8:30 pm in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union! The event will last one hour and will include a 45-minute moderated Q&A followed by 15 minutes for audience questions.

Tickets are free and can be picked up in the Pitt Program Council office (WPU Room M-30) starting on Friday, January 13th at 8:30 AM while supplies last. You are able to pick up 2 tickets but both you and the person you get a ticket for will have to present your Pitt IDs at the door on the night of the event.

All Pitt Program Council events are open to all undergraduate Pitt students with a valid (Oakland) Student ID. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Pitt Program Council at ppc@pitt.edu or by phone at 412-648-7900 for proper accommodations.

New Hong Kong movie A Guilty Conscience (毒舌大狀) in Pittsburgh, from January 20.

The new Hong Kong movie A Guilty Conscience (毒舌大狀) will play in Pittsburgh from January 20. A synopsis, from the distributor:

A scandal breaks out when it is revealed that a famous supermodel might be abusing her daughter. As the rich and famous rush to take sides, the legal field does the same. Though a few prominent judges and lawyers want to give the young daughter justice, the cover-up being done by the supermodel and her connections makes it nearly impossible.

Starring 黃子華 Dayo Wong, 謝君豪 Tse Kwan Ho, 王丹妮 Louise Wong, 廖子妤 Fish Liew, 王敏德 Michael Wong, 何啟華 Dee Gor Ho, 楊偲泳 Renci Yeung, 栢天男 Adam Pak

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

2022 Korean film Broker (브로커), starring Song Kang-ho, remains in Pittsburgh through January 26.

The 2022 Korean film Broker (브로커), which opened in Pittsburgh on January 12, will remain here through at least January 26. A synopsis, from Han Cinema:

A film about people who have become involved around 'the Baby Box' which is designed to allow people who cannot raise children to leave their babies anonymously.

Broker was the 18th highest-grossing film in Korea last year, 10th among domestic films there. It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront through the 19th and at the Squirrel Hill Manor through the 26th.

Pittsburgh Taiko Beginner Class four-week session, Sundays starting February 12.

Pittsburgh Taiko will start its next series of Beginner Classes on February 12. From the Japan America Society of Pennsylvania:

On Sundays starting February 12, Pittsburgh Taiko will hold a four-week introductory class for people who are interested in joining our performing group or anyone who wants to just give taiko a try. No experience necessary!

Taiko combines energetic hits with calm focus, balances group unity with individual expression, and requires both power and subtlety.

For more information, see www.pittsburghtaiko.org/classes.

Proof of full vaccination is required, and masks must be worn in the building, including during class.

Please note that the studio is only accessible by stairs.

The cost is $30 for JASP members and high school or college students, and $40 for the rest of the community. Classes are held at 2 N. Balph Ave. in Bellevue (map). Those interested can contact Pittsburgh Taiko via the form here.

Removing the Thorns of Human Suffering with Hiromi Itō & Jeffrey Angles, February 26 at City of Asylum.

The City of Asylum wlll host "Removing the Thorns of Human Suffering with Hiromi Itō & Jeffrey Angles" on February 26.

Co-Presented by the University of Pittsburgh Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures and MONKEY x Stone Bridge Press, award-winning author Hiromi Itō and esteemed translator Jeffrey Angles present a reading of The Thorn Puller, Hiromi’s first novel to appear in English. The semi-autobiographical and incomparable novel explores the absurdities, complexities, and challenges experienced by a woman caring for her two families: her husband and daughters in California and her aging parents in Japan. As Hiromi shuttles back and forth between these two starkly different cultures, she creates a powerful and entertaining narrative about what it means to live and die in a globalized society. She channels a myriad of voices drawn from Japanese folklore, poetry, literature, and pop culture, the result of which is a generic chimera—part poetry, part prose, part epic. As her world delves into waves of chaos coming from seemingly every direction, Hiromi relies on sardonic humor and Buddhist bodhisattva Jizo, a being believed to remove the thorns of human suffering, to ease her anguish. The Thorn Puller is a darkly humorous novel with observations on life, death, and the in-between that make for a fearless look at what every adult in every country must face: growing older as their loved ones do too.

You can purchase your own copy of Hiromi’s book, The Thorn Puller, at City of Asylum Bookstore.

It runs from 3:00 to 4:30 pm both in person and online; it's free but tickets are required. The in-person discussion will be held at Alphabet City on the North Side (map).