1989 Japanese animated film Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) in Pittsburgh, October 26 - 30.

The 1989 Japanese animated film Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) will play in Pittsburgh October 26 through 30, the next installment in Ghibli Fest 2024. A synopsis, from the distributor:

Celebrate this beloved coming-of-age story from the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, about a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt.

It is a tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her new journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside village, where her unique skills make her an instant sensation

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and AMC Classic Westmoreland, the Phoenix Theaters Luxury 14 + PTX in Briedgeville, and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; the October 26, 28, and 30 shows are in Japanese with English subtitles, while the October 27 and 29 shows are dubbed in English.

Page Turners Book Club: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, December 12 in Oakland and online.

The December installment of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Page Turners Book Club is Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, held on December 12 at the Main branch in Oakland and online.

Join us once a month for discussions as lively as the page-turning titles we read!! December’s discussion will be on the Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated from the Japanese by Eric Ozawa.

Note: This book discussion is a hybrid event. Attendees are welcome to join in-person, which takes place in the Director’s Conference Room on the first floor of CLP-Main Library, or virtually using the link provided in your RSVP confirmation email. Some copies of the title will be available at CLP-Main at the New & Featured desk. Newcomers are always welcome!

This title is available for checkout in our Catalog, and also as an eBook on Hoopla and as an eAudio on Hoopla.

The event runs from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. A synopsis:

Fanmade: Enhypen in Pittsburgh, November 8 and 9.

The 2024 documentary Fanmade: Enhypen will play in Pittsburgh on November 8 and 9.

FANMADE offers a peek into the global K-pop sensation ENHYPEN's journey and their deep connection to their fans, called ENGENEs, during their tour.

The Hollywood Reporter writes:

The film follows parallel journeys between the group and Engenes. It will show Enhypen as they perform on their U.S. arena tour, building towards the Samsung Galaxy Fanmade concert, where five female fans come together to create a unique experience for the band and the fans, according to a release.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.

2024 movie My Hero Academia (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ユア ネクスト) remains in Pittsburgh through October 30.

The 2024 Japanese animated movie My Hero Academia (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ユア ネクスト), which opened in Pittsburgh on October 10, will remain here through at least October 30.

Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online. Please note, some shows are dubbed in English while others are in Japanese with English subtitles.

"Dream Super-Express : A Cultural History of the World's First Bullet Train" at Pitt, October 29.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr.Jessamyn Abel and her talk "Dream Super-Express : A Cultural History of the World's First Bullet Train" on October 29 as part of the regular Asia Now lecture series.

A symbol of the "new Japan" displayed at World's Fairs, depicted in travel posters, and celebrated as the product of a national spirit of innovation, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen—the first bullet train, dubbed the "dream super-express"—represents the bold aspirations of a nation rebranding itself after military defeat, but also the deep problems caused by the unbridled postwar drive for economic growth. At the dawn of the space age, how could a train become such an important symbol? In Dream Super-Express, Jessamyn Abel contends that understanding the various, often contradictory, images of the bullet train reveals how infrastructure operates beyond its intended use as a means of transportation to perform cultural and sociological functions. The multi-layered dreams surrounding this high-speed railway tell a history not only of nation-building but of resistance and disruption. Though it constituted neither a major technological leap nor a new infrastructural connection, the train enchanted, enthralled, and enraged government officials, media pundits, community activists, novelists, and filmmakers. This history of imaginations around the monumental rail system resists the commonplace story of progress to consider the tug-of-war over the significance of the new line. Is it a vision of the future or a reminder of the past, an object of international admiration or a formidable threat? Does it enable new relationships and identities or reify existing social hierarchies? Tracing the meanings assigned to high-speed rail shows how it prompted a reimagination of identity on the levels of individual, metropolis, and nation in a changing Japan.

The talk starts at 12:00 pm in 211 David Lawrence Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Ebisu Japanese Life Store soft opening in Squirrel Hill on November 1; Grand Opening scheduled for November 2.

Ebisu Japanese Life Store has announced the soft opening for its first Pittsburgh location will happen on November 1, with the Grand Opening scheduled for November 2. Signage went up for Ebisu a short time ago at 5846 Forbes Ave. (map), the former location of Panda Supermarket before that grocery store relocated in 2021. There are a number of giveaways scheduled for the opening if customers hit certain purchase thresholds (for instance, a snack gift pack for spending $39.99 or more).

Founded October 2013 in Osaka, Japan, Ebisu is a unique life store that offers thousands of product categories from Japan. Quality, happiness, and harmony are core values of Ebisu. High-quality comes from our willingness to provide the best products to our consumers, happiness is the feeling a consumer gets when shopping in our store and harmony is when the consumer experiences everything we have to offer!

Ebisu Japanese Life Store is a Chinese chain specializing in Japanese goods, with its stores featuring cosmetics, snacks, homegoods, stationary, gacha machines, and more.

Ebisu Japanese Life Store coming soon to Squirrel Hill.

An Ebisu Japanese Life Store is coming soon to Squirrel Hill, going into 5846 Forbes Ave (map), the spot formerly occupied by Panda Supermarket before it moved down the block three years ago.

Founded October 2013 in Osaka, Japan, Ebisu is a unique life store that offers thousands of product categories from Japan. Quality, happiness, and harmony are core values of Ebisu. High-quality comes from our willingness to provide the best products to our consumers, happiness is the feeling a consumer gets when shopping in our store and harmony is when the consumer experiences everything we have to offer!

The former Panda was long rumored to be Jho's Pool Hall, but development stalled and the "for lease" signs multiplied.

1982 Japanese animated film Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (機動戦士ガンダムⅢ めぐりあい宇宙編,) in Pittsburgh, October 23 and 27.

The 1982 Japanese film MMobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (機動戦士ガンダムⅢ　めぐりあい宇宙編) will play in Pittsburgh on October 23 and 27, the final installment of the three-part AXCN Gundam Fest showing the films compiled from the initial Gundam TV series.

Amuro Ray and the rest of the White Base crew, now denominated the 13th Autonomous Corps, return to outer space to support the rest of the Earth Federation forces for the decisive battle against the Duchy of Zeon's forces.

It plays locally, in Japanese with English subtitles, at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

University of Pittsburgh to offer Korean major from Fall 2025.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures has announced it will offer a Korean major from Fall 2025. Over the last decade, Korean has seen some of the greatest enrollment growth among foreign languages in US universities, and the major helps to satisfy the demand at Pitt. The department also offers majors in Chinese and Japanese.

"Lengger: A Dance Workshop" with Rianto, November 12 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh will host Rianto and "Lengger: A Dance Workshop" on November 12.

This dance workshop will be led by Rianto.

Rianto is an Indonesian-born, Japan-based dancer, choreographer, and actor, trained in classical Javanese dance from a young age. He specializes in cross-gender traditional dance form of Lengger Banyumas. Rianto was born in 1981 in Banyumas, Indonesia. Rianto learned to dance the culturally significant lengger dance at the High School for the Arts (SMKI) in Banyumas, Indonesia. He later studied choreography at the college-level Institute of the Arts (ISI) in Surakarta, central Java. Since 2003, Rianto has been based in Tokyo, where he founded the Dewandaru Dance Company, a classical Javanese dance company. Rianto has performed with many international companies and choreographers, including the Akram Khan Company and Choy Ka Fai's SoftMachine.Rianto is a master of Lengger Lanang, a dance that expresses gender, body, and construction through a man performing as a woman. Rianto has worked to preserve the dance by establishing Rumah Lengger, a center in Banyumas that trains young dancers in the style; and collaborating with the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) to document the dance using motion capture technology.

The workshop runs from 11:00 am to 12:15 in room 132, Music Building (map).