Chinese-Canadian Pop/R&B singer PIAO performing in Pittsburgh, February 27.

Chinese-Canadian Pop/R&B singer PIAO will perform in Pittsburgh at Spirit Lounge on February 27 in support of Jhariah. An overview, from her Youtube:

Shanghai born, Los Angeles transplant PIAO is the artist you’ve been waiting for. With heartfelt lyrics and a vocal range that hits both ends of the spectrum, PIAO breaks the mold of the traditional pop artist and creates her own lane. Recent Berklee graduate and multi-instrumentalist, PIAO has had the opportunity to work with talented artists and producers like T-Pain and Don Cannon to help amplify her vision and build her musical repertoire. As she develops her sound and plans to release new music, prepare to know the name PIAO.

Tickets for the all ages show are available online. Doors open at 7 pm, music starts at 8. Spriit Lounge is located at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville (map).

"Early Modern Kabuki: Lineage, Talent, and Print Media," February 26 at Pitt.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh will host Katherine Saltzman-Li and her talk "Early Modern Kabuki: Lineage, Talent, and Print Media" on February 26. It starts at 4:00 pm in 501 Cathedral of Learning.

Oscar-nominated 2023 Japanese + Wim Wenders film Perfect Days returns to Pittsburgh, from February 22.

The 2023 Japanese film Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders, will return to Pittsburgh from February 22. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the movie first played in Pittsburgh in November.

Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.

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

Love Tea (by Bubble Bee) closes in Oakland, ending a run of Asian businesses in a building now owned by Pitt.

Signage went up recently on 229 Atwood St. to say that Love Tea by Bubble Bee has closed and to direct customers to its newish Shadyside location. The property was purchased by the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 and was home to a run of Asian businesses over the last decade, including Love Tea, Love Ramen, and Love Yogurt, a bellwether of Asian food trends in what was formerly a convenience store circa 2014. Love Tea became Love Tea by Bubble Bee last year. Bubble Bee is a small local chain with locations in Shadyside, Ross Park Mall, and South Hills Village Mall; the owner also operates Look Eye Care, which itself has locations in Ross Park Mall and Squirrel Hill.

1997 Japanese animated film The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air/まごころを、君に) in Pittsburgh, March 17 and 20.

The 1997 Japanese animated film The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air/まごころを、君に) will play in Pittsburgh on March 17 and 20.

This final movie version was created as an alternative ending to the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION TV series, remaking the final two episodes from the series. SEELE plans an attack on NERV after failing to create a man-made Third Impact. After reaffirming both her own and her mother’s existence in a state of despair, Asuka returns and begins the counterattack. However, new enemies descend from the heavens. Meanwhile, Shinji witnesses the horrifying wreckage of Asuka’s EVA-02 while piloting EVA-01. Mass production models surround EVA-01 and perform a solemn ceremony. What does it mean to complete a human heart?

It is scheduled to play (so far) at the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Susuwatari II: a shakuhachi recital, February 24 at Pitt.

devon osamu tipp will present "Susuwatari II: a shakuhachi recital" on February 24 at the Frick Fine Arts buildilng in Oakland.

Please join me for an evening of contemporary music for shakuhachi written by composers Juhani Nuorvala, Jason Belcher, Samantha Kochis, Ramteen Sazegari, Ritwik Banerji and myself!
also making a guest appearance on this show is Christopher J Staley!
asking for suggested donations of 10 dollars
hope you can join us!

The performance will start at 5:00 pm in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Pittsburgh campus (map). The event is free for students and has a suggested $10 for all others.

"Far-East and “Far-Europe” – Japanese and Portuguese semiperipheries through the eyes of Wenceslau de Moraes," February 21 at Pitt.

The Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will present Dr. Olivia Holloway and her talk "'Far-East and “Far-Europe'” – Japanese and Portuguese semiperipheries through the eyes of Wenceslau de Moraes" on February 21.

Japanese-Brazilian relations, though thoroughly researched, do not always consider the possible influence of Portuguese diplomacy on policies facilitating Japanese immigration to Brazil. This presentation will focus on Wenceslau José de Souza Moraes, a pioneer of Lusophone diplomacy in Japan. Moraes’s writings reveal a fascination with the concept of self-sacrifice and an emphasis on commonalities between Portugal and Japan. His exemplars of self-sacrifice, especially by women, will be explored on moral and practical levels to elucidate the author’s reverent, albeit complicated, perspective toward women.

It starts at 11:00 am in 501 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

1998 film After Life (ワンダフルライフ) at Maridon Museum in Butler, February 23.

THe 1998 film After Life (ワンダフルライフ) will play at the Maridon Museum in Butler on February 23, the first installment in this spring's Japanese Film Series at the museum.

A mid-20th Century social service structure serves as a way station between life and death. Every Monday, deceased individuals check in and social workers prompt them to select a single memory to carry into the afterlife. They have only a few days to choose their happiest memory, which is then designed, staged, and filmed by the workers. This allows souls to relive this moment for eternity, forgetting the rest of their lives and residing within their happiest memory.

The film will be presented by Dr. William Covey, Director of the Slippery Rock University Film & Media Studies program. The movies in the series are free and open to the public, but registration is required and can be made by calling 724.282.0123. The Maridon Museum is located at 322 North Mckean St. in Butler (map).

Korea's Brush Theater returns to Pittsburgh's Children's Theater Festival with "Poli POP!" May 17 - 19.

South Korea's Brush Theater will once again appear as part of Pittsburgh's Children's Theater Festival with "Poli POP!" from May 17 - 19.

Poli and Pola don't want to go to sleep. The siblings start off playing with toys in their bedroom, competing against each other to be the leader of the room, but then their imagination takes them on a surreal dreamlike journey full of surprise and joy. BRUSH Theatre uses incredible technology and special effects to transform the set from an empty room to far away islands, roaring seas, the Egyptian desert, busy cities, dance parties, and more! But the duo don’t know there’s something else lurking in the shadows… a ferocious alien monster! What will they do?

A wonderful follow up to BRUSH's recent Doodle POP, this colorful and playful new theater production uses live musicians who perform the accompanying score and sound effects, stunning interactive animations and painted projection mapping, and an abundance of theatrical imagination.

The duo performed "Doodle POP" here in 2022. The performances are at the Pittsburgh Playhouse on the Point Park University campus downtown (map), and tickets are available online.

More films added to March's Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival lineup.

The Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, running March 15 through 28 at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville, added two new films to its lineup: 2022's Lonely Castle in the Mirror (かがみの孤城) and 1979's Future Boy Conan (未来少年コナン).

The full roster of 18 feature-length films, with links to tickets, is available on the festival website. The Row House is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).